The AP and other news sources around the country (we heard about it on NPR) reported a few days ago that Medvedev had invited moms and dads of large families to the Kremlin to honor them with money and kudos.
Apparently Russia is facing the "threat" of a huge population decline and Medvedev wants his people to go forth and multiply.
The award is called the "Medal of Parental Glory."
I'm not sure a massive decline in homo sapiens is really so much a problem--perhaps it's a solution--if you take a longer view of what's going on with global warming and environmental devastation caused by people but it does seem rather warm and fuzzy that large families are being honored.
Our favorite part of what Medvedev said is that the award should be given to both parents, not just the mothers.
We need more international recognition of the importance of fathers in parenting. Right on Russia.
Now, do you think that family with the 16 children could be convinced to park their cars and bicycle?
When I lived in France, the government gave families with three children or more a monthly stipend called "allocation familles nombreuses." (Not sure if that should be plural or not!) Of course, parents started having larger families. When everyone was a practicing Catholic and birth control was not yet accepted, families tended to be large. Then the French birth rate fell. With AFN, the rate went back up, but most people stopped at three. I wanted three children, so the AFN were icing. If I were living in Russia, under the current conditions, I doubt money from the government would encourage me to bring a child into the world, knowing how they treat their citizens ....
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