The breakdown of the Soviet Union was accompanied by drastic societal change altering individual life courses and demographic behavior, particularly fertility and nuptiality. Birthrates strongly declined and the formation patterns altered remarkably. Has the altered family and fertility behavior of Russian men been the result of the societal transformation in the Russian Federation? Searching for an answer, general patterns of fatherhood and men’s transition to first union are analyzed and men’s employment status and educational career are elaborated as the main determinants of these demographic transitions.
