Vladimir Putin

In his speech Putin explained the decline in population that has taken place each year in Russia and deemed it the Demographic problem. This problem revolves around three things: low birth rate, high death rate, and low immigration rates. Putin wants to implement government programs that will curb these problems. To increase the birth rate he explains a funding program instigated by the government to aid families who have more than one child. To decrease the death rate Putin discussed government programs improving the roads and decreasing the alcohol consumption. He has no definite plan to increase immigration, only that Russia needs to encourage educated people to come to its country. The rhetoric he uses makes it sound like the state cares about families, but Putin's words make it clear that the family thrives in order to provide the state. Putin said that a man's true love for his country begins with a love for his family.

Contemporary Families

Singly and Cichelli's artile on Contemporary Families argues that the new family order is characterized by the individual. Rather than the old family model in which family life was a collective concern, the family is now a place where the individual "searches for support from one's close relatives for the affirmation of one's identity."

Singly and Cichelli also argue that the European family has reconciled the individual with the "inegalitarian social order" perpetuated by the family in a general sense. The authors suggests that a study of social reproduction and personal fulfillment leads to an understanding of "the transformations that are under way in contemporary families.

The article divides the transformation of the family into different categories that shed light on the development of European families. One such category is that of education in contrast to social status as an asset in relationships. The contemporary family now allows the degree of the individual to determine their value in a relationship rather than the social rank of their parents. In a sense, the contemporary couple "trades" valuable degrees rather than social rank in the formation of a long term relationship. Interestingly enough a significant portion of the authors' evidence comes from novels and literature from the late nineteenth century to more contemporary literature.

The more compelling evidence however, comes from statistics gathered from surveys taken by different countries, especially France and Italy. With their evidence and arguments combined Singley and Cicchelli make the valid point that the European family of today is greatly based on the individual's development--including that of the child. While parents are responsible for creating opportunities for their child in competition with other families, the parent also assumes a more unattached role. Children are allowed to seek their personal identity, in fact, the parent is expected to help reach that latent personality.

An insightful conclusion is made by the authors. They recognized the great changes that have take place even in the last thirty to forty years and then pose the question of whether the current form of family life will actually last--what will be the next "contemporary family"?