'Offer something more interesting & passionate than porn,' Putin calls for adult content alternatives

Days after making an unusual suggestion to his countrymen to “have sex during work breaks,” Russian President Vladimir Putin is now back with another proposal and this time it is about porn.

In his annual ‘Direct Line’ event in Moscow on Thursday, which ran over four hours, Putin acknowledged widespread global popularity of pornographic content and suggested the creation of their alternatives which could be more “interesting and passionate” to capture the attention of people.

He even emphasised, “Porn sites are visited all across the world. It is not just an issue for us, but for everyone.”

‘Something more engaging & interesting than porn’

While Putin acknowledged that banning and prohibiting adult content could be one approach, he argued that it is more important to create alternatives that are more compelling.

“The answer can be what? In general, you could ban, but you should always offer an alternative that is more interesting than a porn site. So that a person would get in there, open a porn site and say: I’ve already seen this, I want to see something else," a report by Russia Today quoted Putin as saying at the event on Thursday.

Putin’s message for Russians: ‘Have sex during work breaks’

Recently, the Russian president reportedly also suggested people of his country engage in sexual activity and have “romantic meetings” during their lunch and coffee breaks at work.

The suggestion seemed an attempt by Putin in addressing Russia’s declining birth rate and promoting the practice as a way to boost the country’s fertility rate which is currently around 1.5 children per woman, significantly below the 2.1 required for population stability.

As per reports, Putin said, “The preservation of the Russian people is our highest national priority. The fate of Russia depends on how many of us there will be. It is a question of national importance.”

Meanwhile, a host of initiatives have been introduced by the Kremlin to address the issue, including offering free fertility screenings for women aged 18 to 40 in Moscow, aimed at assessing their reproductive health.

With inputs from agencies.