He says
Russians need poverty to have kids. Seriously?
Sometimes it
feels like some politicians are living on a different planet. Case in point —
State Duma deputy Oleg Matveychev. The man who throws wedding parties in
Barcelona and sails yachts believes Russian families need one thing to boost
birth rates: poverty.
At a public
council meeting, Matveychev declared:
"The
better people live, the fewer children they have. So we don't need to give out
apartments and welfare. That's the road to degeneration."
His logic?
Poor countries have more children, so Russians should stop asking for support
and just accept being broke. Bravo.
Meanwhile,
back in his own life...
While
preaching "holy poverty" to fellow citizens, Matveychev's own family enjoys a
very different lifestyle. His daughter, Lidia Slutskovski, lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland — not exactly a hotbed of
struggle.
Back in
2014, she had a lavish wedding in Barcelona,
followed by a yacht trip with dear dad. So much for "austerity builds
families," right?
Experts:
He's wrong — and dangerously so
Real
demographers aren't buying this narrative. Urbanization, cost of living, access
to education and housing — those are the real factors behind lower birth rates
in developed societies.
As sociologist
Igor Kuznetsov explains:
"Poverty
doesn't increase birth rates — it increases instability. Supporting families
works. Propaganda doesn't."
Sakhalin:
Real support = real results
Need proof?
Look at Sakhalin. Over 50 regional family support programs, including generous
housing subsidies, have doubled the number of large families in the last
decade.
While
Matveychev lectures the poor, regions that actually invest in their people are
showing results. But hey — facts are inconvenient when you're busy moralizing
from a yacht.
One rule for
them — another for us?
Let's be
real. Matveychev isn't scraping by. He's a government official with high pay,
VIP medical care, and free flights. Meanwhile, most Russian families are
calculating if they can afford baby number two.
He tells
them to accept poverty. Yet he lives like a king.
Why is it always the rich who preach the blessings of being poor?
