Russian authorities are now offering school-age girls around $1,200 to have children in an effort to boost the country’s birth rate. This comes as Russia faces a major demographic crisis, reportedly losing around a quarter of a million soldiers in the war with Ukraine.
The new policy is rolling out first in the Oryol region, about 200 miles south of Moscow near the Ukrainian border. Previously, Russia had programs offering financial incentives to female university students who had children, but now Governor Andrei Klychkov has extended the offer to schoolgirls as well.
The idea is that girls in “full-time education”—which includes school, vocational programs, and universities—will now be eligible for a one-time payment of 100,000 rubles ($1,200) if they become mothers. The announcement was made on the region’s official website, but once word got out, it immediately sparked backlash.
A Russian independent media outlet, 7×7 Horizontal Russia, shared details of the program on Telegram, and people were not happy. In response, Governor Klychkov fired back, accusing journalists of twisting the story and making it sound worse than it is. He claimed that 40 other Russian regions had already implemented similar measures and insisted this was all part of a federal-level plan to increase the country’s birth rate.
Klychkov also defended the decision by saying that it was meant to support young mothers rather than encourage teen pregnancies. He argued that some girls in these situations might make rash decisions, and the goal was to help them keep their babies while ensuring both the child’s life and the mother’s health were protected.
Still, the whole thing comes at a time when Russia is struggling with a rapidly declining population. According to World Bank data, the country has a birth rate of just 1.42 births per woman, and mortality rates are rising. This program seems to be part of a bigger government push to reverse that trend—but whether it actually works or just sparks more controversy remains to be seen.
