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I think it's more of a global problem than strictly a Russian one. The replacement level fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman (which would mean if every woman had approx. 2 children the population numbers would remain stable). Some experts claim that once a nation reaches a fertility level bellow 1.5 children per woman it is doomed to extinction. The problem is a lot of developed industrial countries reached that level a long time ago. Slovenia for instance has 1.2 children per woman fertility rate. The reasons for this phenomenon are diverse but can be traced back to the same basic problem: some grotesque properties of blatant liberal capitalism. For instance: An employer will be reluctant to offer a job to a qualified female who has a young family, plans one or worse... is pregnant. That's obvious since the employer will have to support her for 2 years while she's on her maternity leave. So the system of liberal capitalism and more specifically free market strives towards the employment of career women who don't want children or aren't planning a family in the near future. Of course there are also other factors involved: people get used to comfortable lifestyle which wouldn't be possible anymore after they'd have to support another human being. It all adds up... and it'll probably end with the extinction of all currently prosperous nations. Yeah goverments are doing their bid and enforcing sanctions which would stop this landslide, but so far it's not really working. It's like shoveling shit against the tide.
China on the other hand has a reverse problem. It's population is too fertile since the idea of a big family, which has been abandoned in many parts of the world is still alive there. The demographic explosion isn't really helping their cause and those who predict a Chinese dominance simply cause they'd outnumber other people are failing to see one thing - those people won't really be all that effective if they don't have enough to eat. And that's what'll happen if they don't artificially stop the population increase with goverment sanctions. No matter how immensely fast Chinese economy is developing it'll never be able to take on such a burden and will collapse on it's own weight. Once famine starts all those millions of people won't be thinking about invading Siberia, but rather overthrowing their corrupt communist goverment. And the communist party is aware of that. Hence the sanctions to REDUCE the population. Hopefully they'll succed. Things might sort themselves out anyway - once China reaches the economic status where an average Chinaman will be able to afford a life as comfortable as an average American or European the population might start droping gradually.
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