Vladimir Putin announces ₹13 lac reward for Russian mothers, here’s why

The honorary title was first established in 1944 in the wake of massive population losses during World War II by Soviet leader Josef Stalin. But, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the title stopped being awarded.

Now, the ‘Mother Heroine’ title – similar to the Soviet-era title – will be bestowed on women who bear and raise 10 or more children.

According to Putin’s decree signed on Monday, the qualifying mothers will be awarded a one-time payment of 1 million rubles (around ₹13,12,000 or $16,000) following their 10th living child turns one year old.

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The decree says that the mother will still qualify if they lose any of their children in battle or as a result of a terrorist act or emergency situation. The Mother Heroine title is considered to be on the same status level as high-ranking state orders like the Hero of Russia and Hero of Labor.

Calling for ‘cardinal’ measures to confront Russia’s demographic crisis, the Russian President claimed that large families were seeing a gradual revival in society when he first proposed establishing the Mother Heroine title on Russia’s Children’s Day holiday on June 1.

Russia’s population has been on decline for decades and in early 2022, the population stood at 146 million. Since 2021, the population declined almost doubled due to Coronavirus and its decline nearly tripled since 2020.

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