On July 9, 2026, the Kazan Diocesan Administration hosted a round table on the topic "National conservation, protection of the traditional family and childhood in the Republic of Tatarstan." The event was organized with the blessing of Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan as part of the work of the regional branch of the World Russian People's Council.
The round table was attended by representatives of the State Duma, family-oriented public organizations and the expert community.
The meeting was moderated by the chairman of the Kazan Diocese's Department for Family Affairs, Protection of Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood, Priest Yaroslav Petrushchenkov. Opening the meeting, he conveyed the greetings and blessings of Metropolitan Kirill to the participants.
The priest's report was devoted to the proposals of the diocesan Department for Family Affairs to improve the demographic situation in the Republic of Tatarstan. The speaker recalled that at the plenary session of the XIII Christmas Parliamentary Meetings on January 28, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia paid special attention to family and demographic issues, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive policy that includes improving reproductive health, increasing fertility, and increasing the number of large and young families.
Fr Yaroslav also noted the Church's position on the inviolability of human life from the moment of conception and the need to strengthen state control over abortions, including the withdrawal of abortions from the compulsory health insurance system and the cessation of their conduct in private clinics. As a positive example, the practice of a number of Russian regions where private medical institutions voluntarily refused to perform abortions was cited. In conclusion, the speaker proposed to consider a number of additional measures to support fertility and families with children in Tatarstan.
Among the initiatives considered are the legislative recognition of the family and its well—being as the main national goal of the development of the Russian Federation until 2050, the prohibition of abortions in non-governmental medical organizations, the introduction of a progressive system of family support at the birth of each subsequent child, and the extension of child care payments until the child reaches the age of three. In addition, they discussed the prohibition of discrediting the family, motherhood and fatherhood in the media and public space, the prohibition of surrogate motherhood as a form of exploitation, as well as the legislative consolidation of the beginning of human life from the moment of conception and the legal status of the embryo.
Following the meeting, the participants noted the importance of further cooperation between the Church, government authorities, public organizations and the expert community in protecting the family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood in the Republic of Tatarstan, and the need to establish a public council on family and demography in the Republic of Tatarstan.