Search the Community

"The officials of Armenia's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs are not hiding the demographic plight in Armenia. Deputy Minister Petrosyan announced during the conference that the rate of poverty is at 35%, unemployment is high, the country is facing grave problems with territorial development and health. According to the deputy minister, the index of birth is very low, so it does not enable simple growth. According to the deputy minister, the causes are the devastating earthquake in 1988 that was followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Karabakh war and the transport blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey." as reported in a recent article. And when it comes to RUSSIA, that country also has a low birth and other problems as outlined in the below article by Landolt: (Russia, Armenia, USA, Canada are suffering from low births because in ALL abortion is legal and they are killing millions children before even they leave the wombs of their mothers. US & Canada are filling up the shortfall by immigration but nobody wants to immigrates to Russia and Armenia so they have either to ban abortion and make it illegal and severely punished or make their countries attractive to immigration from the West) The Russian Law on FamilyPosted on 11 September 2013. by C. Gwendolyn Landolt. September 11, 2013. http://www.realwomenofcanada.ca/the-russian-law-on-family/ In June, 2013, the Russian Parliament (Duma) unanimously passed a law, by liberals, conservatives and socialists, which law reflected an 86% consensus by the Russian people. It was not borne out of hostility towards persons with same-sex orientation as claimed by some. Rather, it was drafted with the intent of protecting the well-being of Russian children. It is in line with the European Convention on Human Rights standards and European jurisprudence. The law was an amendment to a previous law, passed in December, 2010, aimed at protecting children and family life in Russia. The law prohibits the propagation (not the behaviour) of any activity aimed at harming the psychological or physical well-being of minors and prohibits propaganda promoting alternative sexual lifestyles, such as the promotion of the use of intoxicating drugs, alcohol, gambling and the use of offensive language. The word propagation is carefully defined and limited by the legislation. The law is administrative, not criminal. (Russia decriminalized homosexuality in 1993.) The law does not permit any interference in the private lives of homosexuals or authorize the arbitrary detention or arrests of homosexuals as so loudly proclaimed by gay lobbyists. According to contacts in Moscow, there are both openly gay bars in Moscow and gays and lesbians on TV each day. This law has been endorsed by 103 human rights organizations from 33 countries which have signed a statement in support of it. Reason for the Law This law is in accordance with other recent initiatives taken by the Russian government to protect the family, which is in deep crisis. About a third of Russian children are born out of wedlock; more than half of marriages fail; alcoholism is rampant; Russia has the highest rate of abortion in the world (officially, over one million abortions each year). More than two million children are “civil orphans”, living adrift from their families. Russia has passed this most recent legislation because its leaders are deeply concerned about the demographic winter in Russia. In recent years, Russia is burying more citizens than are being born. President Vladimir Putin has stated, “Without exaggeration, the central problem of contemporary Russia is demography, strengthening the family, [and] increasing the birth rate”. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has stated, “The overall decline in population, reducing its density to the parameters of almost three times less than the global average would result in weakening of political, economic and military influence of Russia in the world, and the possibility of additional claims to the territory of Russia”. Among Russia’s concerns are the vast numbers of Chinese on its south-eastern border, and its unsettled southern borders where many of Russia’s former satellite countries are located. Today, the only real source for Russia to sustain itself economically is its oil exports. Russia is in need of a larger population to sustain itself economically by way of taxation, and increased productivity. Hard-headed pragmatism was required. Although REAL Women does not support all of Russia’s decisions, we do support its family initiatives. The abortion law in Russia was restricted last year for the first time since the fall of communism. More such abortion legislation is expected this fall. Pregnancy centres have been established in every major centre in Russia, and generous funding is provided to pregnant women (single and married), both prior to and subsequent to giving birth. The President of the pro-life movement in Russia is Svetlana Medvedeva, wife of the Prime Minister. In June, 2011, Russia held its first Demographic Summit at the Russian State Social University, attended by more than 500 demographers, economists, sociologists, religious figures and societal leaders, such as Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russia’s National Railways. During the discussions, it was agreed that the breakdown of the family in Russia is a large contributing factor to the current demographic problem. The World Congress of Families will be meeting in the Kremlin in September, 2014. The conference is called “Large Families – Future of Humanity”. Not everyone will agree with the Russian solutions to its very serious societal problems. However, the amendment to this law and other family initiatives are directed at protecting children and restoring family life in Russia. This is contrary to the prevailing characterization of these initiatives as being anti-gay. The latter is both a misleading and inaccurate assessment of the situation. Source: REAL Women of Canada ---- Comment by mr.Daniel in which he claims United States and Canada also are having low birth: Back in the 1920's when Lenin and Trotsky dissolved marriage, and decriminalized homosexuality, the timing was lousy. Russia needed to catch up with the Industrial Revolution, and there was another world war looming only two decades ahead. It was no time to be screwing around with 'sexual revolution'. That was a primary reason that Stalin drove Trotsky out of Russia and purged his followers when he got the chance. Today Russia's population is plummeting, just as C. Gwendolyn Landolt writes. Frankly, the same thing is happening in the USA and Canada, but it's hidden underneath the massive importing of immigrant labor. Here, it's actually a routine of replacing the last generations of American workers with hungrier ones who'll work for less and are used to less freedom. Russia isn't following that pattern. I think for them it would be a nightmare to go that direction. They have to restore the social value of families and traditional, respectable role models for boys and girls to follow. Make no mistake, the middle class Americans and Canadians that go back half a century and more are being 'pruned' off the tree. --- There is another facade in Armenia, as reported in: http://massispost.com/archives/9730 "According to the survey, emigration is boosted by systemic issues such as centralization of business and monopolies, issues in education and judicial sectors. The report states that the business sector is handled by a group of people who are also directly involved in public administration, supervising specific areas or sector of economy. This makes smaller competitors vulnerable, causes unemployment, unequal distribution of funds over the society, the report holds. The report also touches upon relations with the Diaspora. The authors of the report think it is necessary to draft a clear strategy and action plan for repatriation and admission of Diaspora Armenians returning to the homeland."