Family and natural reproduction of population in the paradigms of socio-demographic development

The article is devoted to the problems of natural reproduction of the Russian population and the most important factors for reversing the trend of population decline and entering an upward trajectory of demographic development. The features of population reproduction caused by the socio-demographic crisis that arose in the post-Soviet period and continues until recently, as well as the institutional crisis of the modern family, are considered. The information base for the study was Russian and foreign statistical sources (Federal State Statistics Service, World Bank database). The features of the manifestation of the family crisis in Russian society, the factors of family disintegration (market economy, ideology of consumer society, postmodern culture, hedonism, anti-family and anti-natalist culture) are considered. There are given examples of the crises of natural population reproduction in powerful civilizations of the past (Ancient Greece and Rome), which disappeared from the historical scene largely due to falling birth rates and population decline. The article provides a review and assessment of modern concepts and approaches to raising the level of natural reproduction of the population. It is concluded that the changes in the natural reproduction of the population going on in the country in recent decades indicate a pronounced decrease in the level of national security. The author believes like other experts that an unbalanced mass migration influx from other countries to Russia (against the background of sharply reduced natural reproduction of the indigenous ethnic group) can lead to a gradual change in the ethno-cultural balance and loss of the Russian civilizational identity. Therefore, an extremely desirable alternative of a paramount importance for the country is to ensure expanded natural reproduction of the indigenous population, especially the state-forming people, whose number has been declining for decades to an unacceptable extent due to a number of fundamental historical reasons.

natural reproduction of population, fertility, demographic security, socio-demographic crisis, demographic policy, family models