Modern Russian family: factors of forming reproductive and marital behavior models

The relevance of demographic problems in Russia is emphasized in the Concept of State Family Policy in the Russian Federation for the period through to 2025, the Decree on the National Development Goals of Russia through to 2030, priority national projects “Demography” and “Healthcare”, as well as in regulatory legal acts, aimed at supporting family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood. Demographic problems are being solved by introducing a set of measures to support Russian families who are not just in a difficult socio-economic situation today, but in situation of risk. The pandemic has caused the deterioration of both socio-economic indicators of families’ living standards, and the demographic situation in many world countries including Russia. To increase the effectiveness of measures to support the Russian family, it is necessary to identify the factors that determine the motivation of actors to marry and have children, to describe typical models of reproductive and matrimonial behavior. We have obtained the empirical data, allowed formulating the main conclusions, by in-depth interview (there were interviewed 37 informants). Men and women of reproductive age have taken part in the survey; they are the representatives of families with one or two children and large families, as well as families where one parent is raising a child due to family breakdown, the death of one of the parents or a woman’s conscious (including forced) decision to give birth to a child out of wedlock. Informants from socially unadapted families are not included in the sample; we have purposefully selected the informants from families whose socio-economic situation is close to the median in the region of residence. We have formulated the questions for the in-depth interview in accordance with the following plan - the parents’ marital and reproductive attitudes (family experience of the informant’s parents); the informant’s marital and reproductive attitudes (their own family and reproductive experience); the impact offederal and regional measures to support the Russian family on the decision on the child birth; and family needs and problems that hinder the implementation of reproductive plans. The obtained data have made it possible to describe models of reproductive and mating behavior, to formulate conclusions about the factors hindering the fertility growth in Russian regions.