The new Russian family policy (2007-2020) : from the demographic crisis to the representation of the "traditional" family ; La nouvelle politique familiale russe (2007-2020) : de la crise démographique à la représentation de la famille "traditionnelle"

Abstract

Using Russia as an example, this thesis tends towards a better understanding of the sociological mechanisms that can influence family dynamics in relation to public policies. The fall of the USSR was accompanied by a demographic crisis which was reflected in the long-term decline of the Russian population. It is in this context that a new family policy is emerging in Russia which aims to influence in depth the dynamics and representations of the family. In the 2000s, the government introduced measures to encourage all women to procreate, regardless of their income. Then, in the 2010's, the state accompanied these economic incentives with a campaign to promote the family explicitly defined as "traditional" (married heterosexual couple with children). On the basis of a field survey carried out in three regions of Russia (Republic of Tatarstan, Republic of Udmurtia and Ulyanovsk oblast), this thesis addresses the different effects of this policy on family dynamics. Even though there has been an increase in the birth rate in recent years, the real impact of the newly introduced measures on quantitative indices is a subject of debate within the scientific community. The qualitative approach on which this thesis is based makes it possible to identify mechanisms at the microscopic level (the family nucleus) which may explain some of the socio-demographic trends observed at the macroscopic level. Unexpectedly, some of these mechanisms run counter to the objectives of the new family policy: the services offered sometimes lead to an improvement in living conditions which enables some beneficiaries to envisage divorce or to leave the parental home. These effects observed in the regions studied call into question two parameters of the 'traditional' model promoted by the state: the married couple and intergenerational cohabitation. Without tangibly influencing the family structure, it is legitimate to ask whether the "traditional" model has a place in the collective representation of the family. At the end of the 2000s, we ...