This paper will deal with civil society organizations active in the field of family policy and demographic issues in contemporary Russia, using Michel Foucault’s concepts of biopolitics and governmentality. More specifically, so called “daddy-schools” that have emerged in and around Saint Petersburg since 2008, are studied, using interviews and documents. A preliminary analysis shows that the organizations work as complements to the state but have also influenced policy, altered legislation and challenged established assumptions and the governmentality of the Russian state concerning parenthood, the “good” father and how to deal with the ongoing demographic crisis.