The Russian parliament is working on a law that would ban what the authorities cast as the harmful promotion of a child-free way of life with heavy fines for "childlessness propaganda", a close ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

Russian MPs on Tuesday called for a ban on promoting childless lifestyles, the latest measures targeting what Moscow depicts as a liberal ideology at odds with Russia's conservative values. The Kremlin,

The issue has taken on greater urgency for the authorities after official data released this month showed that Russia’s birth rate had slid to its lowest in a quarter of a century while mortality rates are up,