Faced with declining birth rates in his country, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to bring back a Stalin-era award given to the “mother heroine” given to women with 10 or more children, The Moscow Times reported. .
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The title was created by Joseph Stalin in 1944 to encourage women to have more children, thus reversing the demographic crisis that beset the Soviet Union after the deaths of millions of citizens during World War II.
More than 400,000 women had received this award before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Vladimir Putin has therefore decided to revive this title as Russia faces a new demographic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
A decree was signed on Monday that would give the women one million rubles, or just under $21,600 Canadian, if their tenth child turns one and on condition that the other nine children are alive. The only exception remains when one of the children dies in combat due to a terrorist attack or emergency situation.
Mothers also receive special gold medals with the flag and coat of arms of Russia.
This title, along with “Hero of Russia” and “Hero of Labor”, is one of the highest state orders in the country.
The population of Russia has fallen to 145.1 million people, with a decrease of 400,000 people at the beginning of 2022.