Moscow Behind Regions Giving Bonuses to Teenage Russians who have Babies, Head of Duma Committee on Defense of the Family Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 6 – Among 42 steps Russia’s labor ministry has proposed regions use to boost their birthrates as Putin has demanded, Nina Ostankina says, is the notion that they should pay teenage Russian girls a special bonus if they get pregnant. Some of the girls are now getting pregnant for the money, leading to single-parent households rather than strong families.

            At least five federal subjects have launched such programs, the KPRF chairman of the Duma’s committee on the defense of the family says; and the results are anything but encouraging given that many of the girls getting money are physically but not psychologically ready to be mothers (nakanune.ru/articles/123555/).

            Many will not marry the fathers of their children, leading to single-parent households or an increase in the number of orphans if as seems likely many of these young women choose to abandon their children. The Russian government should support new mothers from all age groups rather than focusing on the young.

            Boosting birthrates among the very young in the hopes that having their first child early will lead Russian women to have large numbers of children, a trend that would help the governors meet Putin’s demands is just one of the negative consequences of this Moscow policy being carried out by the regions.

            Another that has drawn criticism is that promoting early motherhood with cash is likely to boost birthrates first and foremost among poorer non-Russian groups and thus further shift the demographic balance in the Russian Federation away from ethnic Russians (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/04/rf-regions-promoting-teenage.html).