Putin, 69, is the youngest of three, although his brothers died before him, has revived the mother heroine award for mothers who have birthed 10 children. With a price valued at R286k it aims to recognize extraordinary parenting efforts
President Putin reintroduced a 1944 Soviet-era award to encourage Russians to have more children, with an award called the ‘mother heroine award’.
Mother heroine award: Putin Revives Soviet-Era “Mother Heroine” Award to Encourage Childbirth
The “Mother Heroine” award, established in a decree on 15 August 2022, offers cash incentives and social recognition to women with 10 or more children.
Joseph Stalin reportedly created the honorary mother heroine medal in the Soviet Union and awarded it to 400 000 citizens.
The Resurrected Award and its Requirements
The resurrected reward will give Russian citizens one million rubles (about R280 000) after their tenth kid turns one and the other nine children survive.
READ MORE: Nuclear Energy 2.0: Rosatom’s Clean Electricity
Historical Context: Stalin’s Creation of the Honorary Medal
Kristin Roth-Ey, associate professor at University College London’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies, says the Stalin-era reward was part of a “pronatalist” social package at the close of World War II.
“It was about the motherland,” she said. Its resurgence “echoes Stalinist times.
Roth-Ey says the prize was created while the Soviet Union was “planning for post-war reconstruction” and supporting families as “the basic institution of Soviet society. She also suggested improving women’s health care, providing financial aid, and making divorce harder.
“The conflict created widespread anxiety about population loss… It’s relevant today”
Criticisms and Omissions: The Ukrainian Conflict and the Award’s Relevance Today
She also mentioned the Kremlin’s “special military operation” invasion of Ukraine.
Having a large family is still considered as “part of being a decent Russian citizen” nearly 80 years after Stalin’s directive, says Roth-Ey, and it’s typical in other “authoritarian… nationalist movements” like Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe.
READ MORE: Russian coal reserves enough for 300 years – Energy Ministry
WWII is an essential element of Russia’s national psyche, as it is elsewhere in Europe. Every year on May 9, Victory Day, a Russian national holiday, the defeat of Nazi Germany is honored.
The Award’s Symbolic Connection to Russian Identity and Authoritarian Movements
The motherhood award is being reintroduced as part of Russia’s “patriotic campaign” since annexing Crimea in 2014.
The original Soviet medal had a gold star on a silver pentagon with red enamel “ат-еpoин” (Mother Heroine).
Putin is the youngest of three, although his brothers died before he was born. On Children’s Day, June 1, he backed reinstating the prize.
“Generally, you can rely on individuals raised in a large family,” he stated in a speech. “They’ll never let a friend, colleague, or country down.
Putin’s Concerns over Demographic Collapse and the Patriotic Campaign
The Kremlin has given the “Order of Parental Glory” to parents with more than seven kids since 2008. If their seventh child turns 3, they get 50,000 rubles and a certificate.
Dina Fainberg, the author of “Cold War Correspondents” and associate professor of contemporary history, said Putin’s postwar “push toward state-led patriotism”
However, she said the reasoning wasn’t tied to the Ukraine crisis.
“It’s not a war in Ukraine,” she remarked of the 6-month incursion. “Putin and his team didn’t call it a war. When you term it a war, you induce panic and instability.
Russia’s Existing Measures to Boost Birth Rates and Population
The Russian leadership, led by President Putin is worried about demographic collapse, not “nostalgia” for the Soviet Union, she says.
Russia has a population drop and demographic problem. – Feinberg noted that Putin sees himself as the symbolic masculine head of the Russian family and the ultimate “protector of the elderly, women, and children” from Russia’s enemies.
Russia’s population of less than 145 million is dropping due to low birth rates and an aging population, which afflict many affluent countries.
READ MORE: Vladimir Putin makes a stunning forecast regarding Africa
As a result, Putin has long worked to boost Russian birth rates.
In June, he called Russia’s demographic situation “very tough” and called for “dramatic” actions. He grumbled last year that “there aren’t enough workers” in the world’s largest country.
According to Rosstat, Russia’s government statistics agency, 6.3 % more children were born in the first half of 2022 than in the same period in 2021.
Experts Weigh In Effectiveness and Challenges of Demographic Programs
However, Demographic scientist Sarah Harper, head of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, says state attempts to boost population are rarely successful.
She stated such measures don’t function demographically. “Now that you have a baby, it will be 20 years before it’s productive.
Such demographic programs are more typical in authoritarian regimes with “long-term strategic planning,” according to Harper. Echoing an argument one would expect from a eugenicist, she said the “quality” of a country’s population is more essential than the “number” in the 21st century.
She continued, “Population growth is hard. Immigration is vital, but it creates political “tensions” that make it unpopular in Russia and elsewhere.
Response and Preoccupations of Russian Women
Roth-Ey said modern Russian women may not accept the motherhood prize.
“I don’t see Russian women responding,” she remarked. “They are preoccupied. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but then one has to say, after all, who would not want to be recognized for anything?
