Childfree Russia is a Russian opposition non-governmental movement founded by activist Edward Lisovskii ().
It was established in 2012 as the first
childfree
Voluntary childlessness or childfreeness is the active choice not to have children and not to adopt children. Use of the word ''childfree'' was first recorded in 1901 and entered common usage among feminists during the 1970s. The suffix -''free' ...
movement in Russia.
History
Edward Lisovskii, a founder of the movement, is a marketer by profession. He headed the company "Advertising Group of the Russian Federation", which worked with advertising in the Moscow Metro, online with Victoria Bonya, Vadim Galygin and
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
, as well as
Odnoklassniki
Odnoklassniki (), abbreviated as OK or OK.ru, is a social networking service and online video sharing website primarily in Russia and former Soviet Republics. The site was launched on March 4, 2006 by Albert Popkov and is currently owned by VK. ...
,
MTS and TV shows.
In 2012, Lisovskii compiled the principles of the childfree ideology in Russia and opened several communities on social networks.
In 2013,
VKontakte
(short for its original name ''VKontakte''; , meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predominantly used by Russian speake ...
, at the request of the prosecutor's office, blocked Lisovskii's personal accounts and his community on VKontakte, and he urgently left St. Petersburg.
According to a 2020 study by the NAFI Analytical Center, 46% of Russians aged 18 to 45 do not want to have children. State television associates this fact with the development of his ideology.
In 2021, Russian far-right MP
Vitaly Milonov publicly stated that he would like to ban Childfree Russia and imprison Lisovskii for spreading "childfree propaganda".
[
In 2022, Senator Margarita Pavlova came up with a bill to ban content related to сhildfree topics, and equate Edward Lisovskii with an extremist because of his childfree views. Lisovskii was forced to flee Russia in February 2022][
In November 2024, the ]State Duma
The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
voted unanimously to ban "childfree propaganda".
References
{{Reflist
Non-profit organizations based in Russia
2012 establishments in Russia