Putin offers incentives for women to have 10 children amid demographic crisis: Report

In a bizarre move, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly launched a "reward scheme" in an effort to replenish the country's shrinking population owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine. According to reports, President Putin has announced to offer monetary rewards to Russian mothers for having ten or more children under "Mother Heroine" - the newly launched scheme. Dr Jenny Mathers, Russian politics and security expert, stated that the new reward scheme has been launched to address the country's dwindling population. 

The scheme comes as Russia reported the largest daily number of coronavirus cases since March this year and with several of its soldiers also losing their lives in the ongoing war, which has reportedly led to a drop in the country's demography. According to Dr Mathers, President Putin has often termed large families as "more patriotic," who feel far more connected to "mother Russia". “A soviet era award for women who have ten or more children, it is called the Mother Heroine. It’s an attempt to restore Russia’s demographic crisis that has been deepened by the war in Ukraine," Dr Mathers told Times Radio, as reported by Daily Express. 

Russian women to get one-time payment of 1 million rubles

Specifying the details of the scheme, Dr Mathers further revealed that Russian women would get a one-time payment of 1 million rubles (over $16,000) after their tenth kid turns one, provided that the other nine children are all still alive. "This sounds desperate. Is it? It is, actually. It is pretty desperate. I mean, Russia has had difficulties with demographics, trying to get enough people to populate the country really since the 1990s off and on," she remarked. 

Scheme revolves around urging Russian women to have more children

The Russian politics and security expert claimed that in addition to the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has substantially harmed Russia's demography. Therefore, according to Dr Mathers, it is clear that this is an attempt to inspire or urge Russian women to have more children and large families. Meanwhile, she also raised concerns about the scheme and said that country is currently battling several economic, social and political problems. "Who can imagine raising 10 children for 1 million roubles? Where are they all going to live in the meantime?"  Dr Mathers questioned, as per Daily Express. It should be mentioned here that Russia is the largest country in the world by area and has a population of more than 14 crores, as per the 2022 estimate. 

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