World Cup 2018: Russian lawmaker warns against sex with foreigners

A senior Russian lawmaker has called on her countrywomen not to have sex with foreign men visiting the country during the World Cup, saying Russian women "should give birth to our own."

In an interview with radio station Govorit Moskva, Tamara Pletnyova, the chairperson of the Duma committee on families, women and children, said she was concerned about a rise in single mothers.

Ahead of the quadrennial tournament, which kicks off in Moscow tonight with hosts Russia taking on Saudi Arabia, she said Russian citizens should marry each other and "build a good family, live together, give birth to children and educate them."

Pletnyova was responding to a question about a spike in births from foreign fathers following the 1980 Moscow Olympics -- an era in Soviet Russia when contraception was much less readily available.

"These children then suffer and have suffered even from Soviet times," she said.

"You know this perfectly well. It's fine if they're one race, but not if they're from a different race. I'm not a nationalist, but still. I know the children suffer, then they get abandoned and that's it, they stay with their mom here."

The press office of Pletnyova's committee said the lawmaker did not plan to make further comments.

Another legislator made similar remarks to Govorit Moskva on Wednesday, according to a transcript released by the radio station.

Alexander Sherin, a member of the Duma defense committee, said that massive sporting events "are always a favorable background for the spread of infectious diseases.

"When it comes to the fact that people come from all over the world, from different climatic zones, they cannot adapt so well, and they can become aggravated by diseases. Maybe the body of a European will somehow react to contact with people from other continents."

Sherin also expressed concern about visiting Western fans, worrying that they might "spread around some kinds of narcotic substances."

Up to a million fans from the 31 other competing countries -- Russia qualified automatically by virtue of being the host nation -- and beyond are expected to descend on Russia's capital Moscow during the month-long tournament, the organizers predict. Tourists will also be visiting 10 other host cities in the country for a total of 64 matches.