To counteract the declining birth rate in the country, Russians are encouraged to have children during their work breaks.

The country recorded its lowest birth rate in 25 years in the first six months of 2024, with the number of infant births falling below 100,000 for the first time in June, Reuters reported.

The combination of falling birth rates and rising deaths during Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine has exacerbated the country’s population crisis. Many people are also emigrating because of the war.

The Kremlin said in July that it was working to reverse the decline in the country’s birth rate.

The birth rate “is currently at a frighteningly low level – 1.4 (births per woman),” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in July, according to AFP. “This is comparable to European countries, Japan and so on. But this is catastrophic for the future of the nation.”

Putin had previously stressed the importance of increasing the country’s birth rate and population, saying: “Protecting the Russian people is our highest national priority.”

The Kremlin is trying to boost the birth rate through tax breaks and financial incentives for families.

Now Russians are being called upon to help reverse the declining birth rate by having children during their work breaks.

According to The Mirror, Health Minister Yevgeny Shestopalov recently said on Russian television that Russians should “reproduce during their breaks.”

In an interview, he stated that there is no reason why Russians should not try to get pregnant during working hours.

“Having a lot to do is not a valid reason, but a flimsy excuse,” he said. “You can reproduce during breaks because life goes by too quickly.”

When asked when people who work 12 to 14 hours a day have time to reproduce, Shestopalov replied: “During breaks.”

Russia is not the only country trying to reverse the decline in birth rates.

Japan has long struggled with a shrinking and ageing population, and the country’s birth rate fell to a new low for the eighth consecutive year in 2023. Japan’s parliament passed a revised law earlier this year that would strengthen financial support for couples raising children or expecting children and expand access to childcare services and parental leave benefits.

Meanwhile, North Korea is reportedly punishing doctors who perform abortions and contraceptive providers with prison sentences in an effort to increase the country’s birth rate.