The Kremlin will soon ban childless families from appearing in films, advertisements and textbooks in order to encourage Russians to have more babies.

MPs in the country’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday voted unanimously for a Bill prohibiting “child-free propaganda” after being urged to do their patriotic duty by Vyacheslav Volodin, the chamber’s speaker.

“Without children, there would be no country,” he said.

The new law will impose fines of up to 400,000 roubles (£3,200) on individuals and 5 million roubles (£40,000) on organisations who are found guilty of spreading “child-free propaganda”.

Russia’s population is currently around 144 million, down 2.5 per cent since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The country’s birth rate is also at its lowest level in 25 years.