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At least 11 Russian regions will pay female students 100,000 rubles (under $1,000) starting next year in exchange for giving birth, the news outlet 7×7 reported Tuesday.
The childbirth incentives will enter into force on Jan. 1, 2025, as President Vladimir Putin seeks to address the country’s deepening demographic crisis, which has been exacerbated by Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine.
The Tomsk and Altai regions in southern Siberia are the latest regions to promise 100,000 rubles for young student mothers this week.
The childbirth bonuses were first announced in July by northern Russia’s republic of Karelia, which said the birth of a stillborn child would not be covered.
The eligibility criteria vary by region, but they all require for would-be mothers to be full-time students and between the ages of 18-to-23 or 18-to-25 when they give birth.
Concerns over reproductive rights have grown as Russian women face increasing pressure to have more children. So far authorities in Russia have banned “child-free” lifestyles as an “extremist ideology,” outlawed “coercion” into abortion, and increased and extended federal state maternity payments, among other steps.
President Vladimir Putin has called for families of three or more children to be considered “the norm” as Russia’s birth rate dropped to its lowest level in 25 years while mortality rates continue to rise.
