Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to reintroduce the Sovietcreated “mother hero” award for women with 10 or more children, apparently to alleviate the country’s demographic crisis. He signed a decree on Monday the 15th that was reported in the media this Thursday the 18th.
Originally, the award was introduced by dictator Joseph Stalin after World War II when the Soviet population plummeted into the tens of millions. However, the honor died out with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Once it’s back in existence, Russian mothers will receive a 1 million ruble ($16,500) payment once their tenth child turns one, if they all survive.
According to the latest statistics from the Federal Statistical Service (Rosstat), Russia’s population shrank by an average of 86,000 people per month between January and May, a record.
In addition, Russia is suffering heavy casualties among the troops in Ukraine, but the true number of casualties has not been made public.
To alleviate the country’s population crisis, the Kremlin also focused on promoting traditional values.
Around 75,300 migrants have now left Russia. Some citizens are fleeing the country due to the Ukraine war and the Kremlin’s political crackdown, according to immigration figures and flight information.
For example, the search term “How to get out of Russia?” in Russian hit a 10year high on Google a week after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Russian interest in the topic of “emigration” on Google also quadrupled between midFebruary and early March. Searches for “travel visa” have nearly doubled, and searches for “political asylum” have more than quintupled.
Over a 30day period in March, Australia, Turkey and Israel were among the most popular destinations, alongside Russia’s friendly Serbia and Armenia, and Georgia, which was occupied by Russian forces in 2008.
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