Again, the familiar rectangular-shaped table of the Russian State Council. The overhead video camera view displayed at the transcript page provides the scale that the above photo can’t—Big Nation, Big Room. Big Table.
On the heels of his Direct Line that discussed many family related issues, President Putin and his State Council on Family Support again discuss their area of responsibility. The issue of demographics is intertwined with that of family for what ought to be obvious reasons. Russia’s vast nation needs many more millions of Russians to settle and develop its lands. The four massive events of the 20th Century caused Russia to lose well over 100 million people—those killed in those events and those that were never born because of them plus those that fled to never return. Today’s Russia ought to have about 300 million Russians (600 Million by other estimates) but only has half that number. Family support is a natural component that arises from the philosophy of Russian culture and its governance, predating the Communist Era as its history proves. How to coax Russians into having larger families so over the decades their population grows and enables them to develop their lands? How to engage in what amounts to social engineering without it being seen as such? That’s how I understand the issue and what Russia’s government is trying to accomplish. Russian geopolitical strength is directly related to its domestic strength, which is why this issue is reported on at the Gym. Let’s discover what was discussed:
Vladimir Putin: Dear colleagues, good afternoon!
We have a very important topic today. We understand that the topics of support and protection of the family, its values, prestige, and status are absolutely permanent. They are the main pillars in solving demographic problems for generations to come, in finding answers to the most complex challenges that we face in this area.
The purpose of the family, its fundamental meaning, first of all in the continuation of the family, and therefore in the multiplication of the multinational people of Russia. And today, at a meeting of the State Council, we will discuss proposals for further, more effective, effective support for families.
In the past year, much has been done to strengthen the family's essential basic role in Russian society and to establish its high moral status. Such work on preserving and developing family traditions and values, the culture of motherhood and fatherhood should be continued and special attention should be paid to large families. They should become an example of success and great public recognition.
The family—and these are the older generations, and young parents, and children–-should occupy the leading positions, a central role in our state policy. Only then we will be able to successfully solve demographic problems, create such conditions that parents strive to have as many children as possible.
Note that the proportion of third and subsequent children in Russian families is growing. So, in 2018 there were 23.3 percent, and last year it was already more than 30 percent. At the same time, there is a general trend towards a decrease in the birth rate, postponement of time marriage and the birth of children. And we must reverse this negative situation. Our new national projects "Family", "Youth and Children", "Long and Active Life". Their implementation will begin in the coming year.
All our large-scale plans should work for the benefit of people, for the sake of improving the standard and quality of life of Russian families. And our citizens and their children will also have to fulfill them.
For the successful future of Russia, for its development, you and I, the Russians, must be much more numerous. First of all, we are talking about increasing the number of large families. As I have said more than once: a large family with many children growing up is and should be the image of the future of Russia.
On the implementation of the measures outlined in the Executive Order issued earlier this year on the decision the most pressing problems of large families, this is the provision of places in children's kindergartens as a matter of priority, free provision for children under 6 years of age of prescription medicines, students of schools and vocational education institutions–-free of charge meals, and schoolchildren--free travel, school and sports uniforms. Also proposed to determine the procedure for providing discounts on housing and communal services by at least 30 percent, to assist in improving housing conditions.
All the above is within the competence of the subjects of the Federation. And these measures are not everywhere being implemented in full. Dear colleagues, I beg you, pay attention to these issues. Their solution is among the most important priorities of our collaboration.
It is known that to bring up and raise three, four or more children is a lot of work. And the mothers, heroines of Russia, rightfully have the same high status, as Heroes of Labor. But their material support is different. We need to eliminate this difference, this injustice and to extend all social guarantees, benefits and payments provided for the Heroes of Labor of Russia to women with a high level of the title of "Mother Heroine". Of course, they deserve it.
It is necessary to do everything possible to ensure that parents with many children have as few problems as possible. And, of course, unfortunately, they still exist. One of them concerns the pension benefits: childcare is counted in the length of service, but in the aggregate, it cannot exceed six years. In addition, pension payments are not accrued from the fifth child.
Such Restrictions on the pension rights of parents of five or more children should certainly be eliminated and take into account in the amount of the pension the periods of care for each child until he reaches a year and a half. I ask the Government to make this decision as soon as possible.
Dear colleagues! We do a lot to help families with small incomes. Since last year, there is already a single allowance for children under 17 years of age inclusive. When my colleagues and I were preparing for yesterday's "Direct Line" with Russian citizens, we also talked about this. Tatyana Alekseevna believes that this is actually the most effective support measure right now. Except for maternity capital, which is our exclusive tool for supporting families. But this measure is complex, and it is quite effective. I propose to increase the availability of the social contract for such families and not take into account the single benefit when providing it.
The regions are also introducing their own additional measures. As a result of our joint efforts, the number of families who were able to overcome difficult life situations with the help of the state is growing. We will continue to work in this direction.
I would like to emphasize once again that we need to effectively respond to the enormous demographic challenge, develop further measures that will have a real impact on increasing the birth rate, and encourage parents to have three, four or more children in a family.
One of these measures is maternity capital, which was just mentioned. Now, when we set ourselves the task of increasing the birth rate, we need to continue to improve it.
It is necessary to organize work in such a way that all families, with different income levels, feel the care and support of the state. In this regard, I propose to discuss the following issues.
First. It is necessary to comprehensively analyze the effectiveness of the pilot project to increase the birth rate. It is being implemented in the Novgorod, Penza and Tambov regions and runs for one year. The term is short. But it is important for us to understand the prospects of this project. Please tell us more about the measures taken in the regions and the results obtained.
Second. There is a need for more active participation of business and employers in solving the problems of the country's demographic agenda. Responsible businesses already do this: they take care of employees' health, take their family members into account, and provide them with a social package.
A number of companies have gone further and pay employees corporate family capital at the birth of a child. Such a truly statesmanlike, mature approach should be supported and encouraged. Today, such a one-time payment of the company to its employee is already exempt from personal income taxes and insurance premiums, but only in the amount of up to 50 thousand rubles. I propose to increase this amount to one million, including if these funds are paid in the form of material assistance, as well as when calculating income tax, such expenses of companies should be considered economically justified.
Of course, along with payments, you need to use other support measures. This includes additional days off, travel packages, and various incentives for families with children. It is known that in a number of regions such business approaches have already become a practice. We certainly need to actively scale them.
I also suggest creating a rating of our largest companies that takes into account the number of children under 6 years of age among their employees. I think this is a key indicator of their participation in solving demographic problems.
The third. When developing national projects, we clearly discussed that almost every one of them should have measures aimed at improving the quality of life of families with children. I know that the Government, together with the State Council commissions, has already carried out such work. These approaches should be actively implemented starting next year.
So far, not all departments take them into account. One example is the availability of family air travel, which we also discussed on Direct Line yesterday. Everyone knows what this is about. I'll say a few more words about this.
The regulatory framework already includes a provision for a 50% discount on tickets for children under 12 years of age. But this rule is formulated in such a way that it allows airlines to easily circumvent it. As a result, buying tickets has become a big problem for large families. Not everyone can afford to fly on a plane on vacation, relax together at the sea, or in other places of our country. I ask the Government to solve this problem, and I think I said so yesterday, by January 14 of the coming year. In general, I ask you to work together with the regions to work out measures to organize recreation for families with children, especially those with many children.
Further. The key task is to preserve and strengthen the health of adults and children, all generations of the family. Here, an important role belongs to the preventive direction, especially early diagnosis and timely treatment of reproductive health disorders, including (by the way, you need to think about this in advance) for children: both girls and boys.
These are issues that medical institutions will deal with professionally, of course. But the authorities in the regions and at the federal level should keep these issues under constant control. We are talking about our future generations.
Yet one area is to support the desire of young parents for early births of children. It is imperative to support these aspirations. Yesterday we said: The first child in women appears at 28-29 years. What happens next? It is well known. Then you want to go back to work, then you need to get education, post-education, work, and so on. And that's it. Then there is not enough time for the second child. We need to pay special attention expectant mothers who are full-time students of universities, colleges, technical schools. As a matter of priority, it is necessary to increase the maternity allowance up to the subsistence minimum.
Yet one measure of support, which was also discussed yesterday on the Direct Line, which I think it is important. Yesterday we discussed the issue of preferential mortgages and housing. This is one of the key issues for a young family.
Analysis of incoming information on yesterday's "Direct Line" shows that people are very concerned about preferential family mortgages at 6 percent. We agreed with the Government, and I ask you to keep it without any exceptions. The family mortgage at 6 percent should remain. I think that we could add one innovation. Today, a family mortgage is valid only in the case of purchasing a new home. It is not valid on the secondary market. And it is clear why: we proceeded from the fact that we could immediately support the construction sector. Marat Shakirzyanovich, don't strain yourself too much. I still think that families should be allowed to buy housing at a reduced rate of 6 percent and on the secondary market. But let's agree that this will be a secondary market in those localities where practically no new housing is being built. I don't think this can have a negative impact on the activities of construction companies and the construction industry as a whole. I ask the Government to simply work this out and work out clear criteria for what are localities where little or no new housing is being built. It is necessary that these criteria should be clear and understandable, devoid of any possibilities for manipulation.
Another important decision that is not directly related to our current topic but is of great importance for the country. Next year we will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. In this regard, I propose to declare 2025 the Year of Defender of the Fatherland. In honor of our heroes and participants of the special military operation and in memory of the exploits of all our ancestors who fought for the Motherland in different historical periods. To the glory of our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers who crushed Nazism.
Let's start working. Please give the floor to Andrey Sergeyevich Nikitin.
A. Nikitin: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!
Russia has set itself an ambitious goal to increase the birth rate, and we will certainly achieve this goal, despite all global trends. The only correct and understandable approach here, and you have set it, Mr President – is to make the interests of the family a reference point for each national project and to review the attitude to family policy at the level of values.
The Commission, together with the Ministry of Labor, Alexey Gennadyevich Dyumin, carried out work on the implementation of your assignment. I admit that it was not easy. And here I would like to thank our federal colleagues. Most of the new national projects now take into account the interests of the family. These are projects such as "Family", "Personnel", "Long and active life", "Infrastructure for life", "Tourism and Hospitality", "Environmental Well-being", "Efficient transport System", "Youth and children", "Data economy and digital transformation of the state", "Effective Economy of the state", and a competitive economy."
Is this enough? I am certainly confident that we can do more, and I suggest that we now implement the steps mentioned above, which are already included in the national projects. But surely our families will offer some other ideas, and on their basis we will provide additional activities in the framework of family-centricity in national projects.
I propose to do this in the middle of next year together with the Government and federal agencies. Here, Mr President, I would like to ask you to give the appropriate instructions to return to this issue and then "finish" these national projects from the point of view of family-centricity.
As you have pointed out, Mr President, it is not only the state's job to solve demographic problems, but also, of course, business. In the Novgorod Region, we see huge support for our enterprises in this regard. We have developed and implemented a family-centric standard, which consists of four blocks: measures to support employees with families; creation of children's rooms; accessibility of organizations for families with children; sanitary rooms; access to drinking water; wheelchair ramps, and so on.
And a separate, very important block--information related to the popularization of traditional family values and having many children in corporate advertising materials. The decision to implement such a standard was made by 80 percent of large and medium-sized organizations in the region, and more than 10 strategic enterprises have successfully completed this work. This is certainly not our know-how, as many regions in the Central Federal District have been following this path for a long time. Experience in supporting families was regionally summarized by colleagues from the Ministry of Labor and approved in the form of methodological recommendations. This will make it possible to extend best practices to the whole country.
And here I would like to thank you for your decision to increase the tax-free corporate family capital to one million rubles. Such measures are really important.
I am also convinced that federal retail chains should also be involved in the work on family-centricity. They have the main sales volume, they are visited by the majority of residents, and there should also be conditions for young children and their parents. Here, the regions will certainly need the support of their federal colleagues, because not all companies are working on this topic yet. But we are confident that we will do all this together with the Ministry.
I would like to report on the first results of the pilot project to increase the birth rate. The term is short–-the first year. It is clear that the first tangible results of our work–-new homes, playgrounds, buses, repairs in women's clinics–-people saw only since October of this year, when we began to introduce all this. But there is already a positive response and the first results.
In the Novgorod region, the main focus is on improving the infrastructure for living. What's important? We have chosen three cities where there are businesses that are willing to pay decent wages, so that people have an incentive to stay, work and live in these territories.
In November, special thanks to the Agency for Strategic Initiatives for conducting independent research, the most important things people called for: the construction of new housing, landscaping, installation of sports and playgrounds, holding cultural events.
And now some figures.
For 11 months of 2024, the share of abortion refusals in the pilot districts has almost doubled compared to last year.
More and more large families. If last year in the pilot districts of the third and subsequent 220 children were born, this year there are already 240, plus 10 percent. The share of births of third and subsequent children in the total number of births also increased and amounted to more than 36 percent. In the Valdai district, the birth rate has increased by 3 percent. In the other two districts, we record a slowdown in the rate of decline in the birth rate by almost half. And I am sure that colleagues, like the Valdai District, will reach positive indicators.
Similar dynamics in the number of women registered for pregnancy. In Valdai, the indicator increased by 16 percent, and in the other two districts, the rate of decline decreased sharply, and we are also confident that we will have a positive result next year.
To sum up, even the most preliminary one, the pilot project is definitely successful. With the support of our colleagues and on your instructions, Mr President, we were able to move the situation forward. This is confirmed by sociology. Most of the residents who participate in the project are satisfied with the changes and do not plan to move.
At the same time, young people who are not married and do not have children are traditionally at risk of migration expectations. And we will certainly work with them in all areas, both from the point of view of supporting family policy and from the point of view of the work that we do within the framework of professional councils.
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,
Of course, there are also points of growth where we still need to make appropriate decisions. The most important thing is probably related to housing. Now it is profitable for developers to work only in megacities, large agglomerations, and regional centers. We need additional tools to support construction in small areas. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for us to provide housing for young families who plan to live and work in small towns.
I would like to conclude my report with one more suggestion. The regions of demographic winter will receive additional funds from the federal budget to increase the birth rate. Thank you for this decision. On average, this amounts to about 200 million rubles a year. In other words, this is approximately the cost of repairing one school or one kindergarten.
Understanding that all the budgets have already been approved, I would like to ask you to return to this issue in the future. I am not sure that these funds will be enough for all regions to take measures to increase the birth rate. Maybe in 2026, or in 2027, I would ask you to think about it and somehow fill this program in some additional way.
Thank you for your attention. The report is over.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
Please, Anton Kotyakov, Minister labor and social protection.
Mr President, let me thank you for declaring 2024 the Year of the Family. This decision made it possible to unite the efforts of public institutions, to attract the attention of employers, scientific community, media to the issues of family and demographic policy.
During the thematic year, a lot of work was done to form a unified action plan to create conditions for increasing the birth rate and supporting large families. In particular, we held eight demographic forums with the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in all federal districts. We invited demographers, deputies, public organizations and, of course, large families to these forums. All this made it possible to form a Strategy of actions for the development and implementation of family and demographic policies, support for large families until 2036.
When developing the Strategy, we were guided by the approach: plus one child in each family. And together with the commission, The State Council has formed a new national project "Family", precisely based on the factors that affect the decision to have a child.
The national project has combined measures to support young, large families, the older generation, development of children's healthcare, reproductive health promotion, cultural infrastructures and promotion family values.
In addition, as Andrey Sergeyevich has already said, the State Council commission has ensured the principle of family-centricity of new national projects, not only in the framework of the national project" Family", but also in the framework of other national projects. We will continue to work together here.
In creating favorable conditions for families, we worked in a wide range of areas. On your instructions, a comprehensive system of support for families with children has been launched since 2023, and a single allowance has been introduced. Today, every third child in our country receives such assistance. Starting from January 1, 2025, due to the increase in the subsistence minimum, the amount of this payment will increase by 14.8 percent. On average, the maximum allowance will be more than 17 thousand per month for one child. Starting next year, the family will be able to receive such assistance without the need to provide repeated need assessment, that is, when the second, third and subsequent children are born.
As part of the tax package, another decision was made–-this is a family payment, and from 2026, parents of two or more children with an income below one and a half subsistence minimums per person will be able to recover part of the paid taxes on personal income for the past year. For such families, the tax will be recalculated at the rate of six percent, and the difference will be refunded in a lump sum. At the same time, the Social Fund will accept applications for this payment without collecting additional certificates, and we plan that parents of almost 11 million children will be able to receive such assistance. All these solutions will be part of the national project" Family", which starts on January 1, 2025.
A separate issue is the preservation of the income of working parents during the period of childbirth and care. Consistent work will continue to increase the corresponding insurance payments. This year, the maximum amount of maternity payments was 565 thousand rubles, and next year it will increase to 794 thousand. The maximum amount of benefits for caring for a child up to one and a half years old today is already 49 thousand rubles, and from 2025 it will increase to almost 69 thousand rubles per month. At the same time, such care payments can now be received even if the mother returns to work ahead of schedule or the father, if he is on maternity leave.
Of course, the family is not only parents and children; it is also ours, the older generation, our parents, grandparents. And thank you, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, for the decision to resume the indexation of pensions for working people pensioners. From January 1, both working and non-working pensioners will receive such indexation. And within the framework of the national project "Family" we extend the Active Longevity program for older people, as well as continuing to develop the long-term care system.
The most important demographic decisions are measures aimed at improving housing conditions. On your instructions, Vladimir Vladimirovich, developed and submitted to the State Duma a bill on the extension of the maternity capital program until 2030. For the same period, the payment of 450 thousand at the birth of the third child has already been extended, And a decision was also made on a family mortgage.
I would like to note that preferential loans today have already allowed 1,300,000 of our citizens to improve their housing conditions. And all these measures that I have just mentioned are also part of the national project "Family".
Special attention to large families. On the opening day of the year, a decree on social support for large families was signed. In its development, the regions have adopted norms that provide support for large families. In more than 39 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, assistance is provided today without criteria of need. The priority of provision is fixed by law due to the possibility of concluding a social contract for large families.
In general, I would like to note the great role of the regions in creating conditions for families with children. Now the regions have programs to increase the birth rate, and these programs at the moment, more than 3.5 thousand different events are united.
From 2025, additional support is planned to for 41 regions, where the birth rate at the end of the year was below the national average. For such entities, we have formed a pool of the most effective solutions to which they can be directed. At the same time, the regions independently choose the most measures relevant to a specific territory. And, conditionally, we believe that they can be divided into three blocks.
The first block is the development of infrastructure and services. Among the measures that are included in this section are the opening of rental points for essential items for newborns, the organization of short-term supervision and care for children under three years of age in social service organizations and at home, the creation of mother-child rooms in universities, and compensation of at least 50 percent of the cost of education in colleges and universities for children from large families. Each of the 41 regions plans to implement these measures as part of their programs.
The second block of measures is pregnancy and birth payments. And here I will highlight several measures that are included in this block: this is the provision of 300 thousand rubles for the birth of the third and subsequent child in a young family. This is a one-time payment starting from 100 thousand rubles when registering full-time students for pregnancy. 39 regions are planning to introduce such payments today, including St. Petersburg, the Republic of Mordovia, Volgograd, Moscow, Ryazan and Rostov regions.
And the third block in that list of measures is improving housing conditions. Here we offer such measures as compensation for at least half of the cost of renting housing at the birth of a child before the age of three, payment of at least 75 percent of the rent at the birth of the second and subsequent children, as well as an increase to one million for mortgage repayment at the birth of the third and subsequent child. These solutions are planned to be introduced in 20 regions, including the Republic of Adygea, Altai Krai, Novgorod and Smolensk regions.
However, material support measures are effective only when there is a desire to create a family and give birth to children. And therefore, special attention is given family values. Now more than half of Russian families are raising only one baby. It is important that large families become a model image that is supported by advertising, culture, mass media. And much has been done within the framework of the Year to promote the image of a happy large family.
With the active participation of the ANO "National Priorities", heads of regions, the communication campaign "We Have Room to Grow" covered all regions of the Russian Federation. The faces of the Year of the Family were the families of the winners of the "Family of the Year" competition, the participants of the contest "This is our family", and the coverage of this campaign today amounted to 3.5 billion. Over the past year, more than 700 thousand publications and stories in the media, almost 5.5 million pieces of content in social networks on family topics.
At the same time, today, if a family is shown in advertising, it is very likely that there is only one child in it. Only nine percent of commercials feature a large family. It is important that not only state information resources but also advertising campaigns of enterprises and organizations promote the image of a large family, a multi-generational family.
Another component of working with values is the event agenda. And during the Year of Families, special attention was paid to the organization of joint pastime of our large and multi-generational families. In total, over 70 thousand various events that brought together more than 60 million people.
According to VTsIOM, the Year of the Family has become the most recognizable thematic year in the history of their implementation. Recognition exceeded 62 percent. The event of the year was a big family weekend. I am sure that the practice of such family-oriented programs will become a good tradition and will be continued in future years.
During the summer health campaign, more than one million children participated in 12 thousand thematic shifts dedicated to the Year of the Family. A great contribution to the organization of family events has been made by institutions of culture, sports, of course, teachers at schools and colleges, universities and institutions of additional education. The Fund for the Support of Cultural Initiatives, the Fund for the Support of Presidential Grants provided great assistance in supporting the family projects.
The Year of the Family is coming to an end. During this time, we have made progress on a wide range of issues and have been able to maintain positive trends in terms of the growth in the number of large families. But we still have to ensure a demographic change, to increase the total fertility rate. And for this, it is necessary to focus efforts in three main directions, which we have identified, singled out.
This is to continue a consistent policy of eliminating the financial disadvantage of the family at the birth of a child, especially for young and large families. Adjust support measures to increase their impact on the possibility of making a decision about the birth of another child, increasing the emphasis on second and third births. And develop housing support for families and family infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
We will implement the corresponding steps within the framework of the national project "Family", as well as provide for them in the action plan for the implementation of the Strategy of Family and Demographic Policy.
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, thank you for your attention.
The "People's Front" regularly interviews families with children on the subject of the demand for support measures and the problems they face.
In preparation for today's meeting, together with the State Council Commission on the Family, we conducted recent research, and 62 percent of the Russian citizens surveyed assess the state measures support families as effectively working.
At the same time, according to Rosstat, the average desired number of children in families remains at the level of two, and the expected number is only 1.75. Of course, to overcome the demographic challenge facing the country, this is not enough. Citizens postpone the birth of children, considering their own age is either still or no longer suitable, and the conditions of the social environment and the attitude of employers in some cases are unfriendly towards families, especially large families.
More than a third of citizens note that they do not want to give birth due to inappropriate age. The average age of the birth of the first child, as you have already said, Mr President, is 28–29 years old, and according to our survey, the psychological age barrier of unwillingness to give birth begins to arise from the age of 34.
According to our data, about 20 percent of families postpone the birth of children due to inadequate housing conditions and financial situation. At the same time, every second family with children surveyed by us faced social injustice, and among large families, this the figure reaches 63 percent. About what are they complaining?
The first is discrimination against young mothers by employers. Sometimes it is hidden, and some are told to their faces that they are not going to hire them, or convicting them for sick leave to care for children and blocking their career growth, especially for single mothers.The problems are systemic. Many women have formed an attitude that having children and a good job are not always compatible things. We have such appeals lots of.
Here is an example from the region: "While on sick leave with a child, the child broke his leg, at work they demanded an urgent closure of the sick leave, since they did not consider it necessary for me to accompany the child on crutches in the hospital. After of the birth of a second child, they did not want to take him back to work."
It's definitely a matter of changing the culture, especially among employers. We need incentive measures from the outside subjects of the Federation, as in the Novgorod Region, and a lot of work on the part of professional business communities.
The second is the inaccessibility of nurseries and extended schools. Your Direct Line has received thousands of questions on this topic. If the question is about nursery infrastructure and cost, the extension is an organizational decision at the school level. In some schools, there is no extended school at all, somewhere it is paid. For Russian mothers, this is an important deterrent in the birth of the second and subsequent children. [What I see being described is the mother’s experiences after bearing her first child is so unsatisfactory that she’s dissuaded from all motivation to have any subsequent children and repeats of the foul treatment she and her children received. IMO, no amount of economic incentives or urging by government can overcome such negative experiences. Just above, it’s stated the problem is systemic. It will take quite a few years after solving such systemic problems for the situation to improve. The negative assessment already adopted by women and shared by them will need to be changed, at that won’t happen overnight. Once their assessments change, then the culture will change, and more children will be born.]
An additional option for solving this problem may be streamlining the nanny market: it should be safe and transparent.
The third is to provide access to dairy kitchens. We note the unevenness of social nutrition in different regions of the Russian Federation: in some regions it is provided only to low-income families, in some regions free baby food for up to eight months, and up to three years—only for the poor; In some regions, it is not available at all.
We propose, if possible, to gradually introduce a federal standard for the organization of social catering, taking into account all wishes of the Ministry of Health in terms of healthy eating. Mikhail Albertovich [Murashko] and I are discussing this.
The fourth is the loss by families with a disabled child of support measures for large families when older children come of age.
Example of address: "I have three children, but I am not a mother of many children. The eldest son is a disabled person of group I, a severe form of cerebral palsy, a wheelchair user, 28 years old. Care for him is constant—even more than for small children. Me and the younger children do not enjoy benefits as a large family."
Believe that it is possible to consider the option of preserving benefits for large families for such families until the youngest child reaches the age of majority. We are in the discussion here with Anton Olegovich [Kotyakov] In this regard: he has his arguments, but it seems that for families this would be important.
The fifth is the lack of children's spaces in clinics and other social institutions, where parents can leave their child for a while. This is of particular relevance for large families, when the institution has to be visited at the same time with two or three children.
Currently, the People's Front, together with Bank Rossiya, is opening children's rooms in clinics and hospitals in new regions. This is not included in the state standard, although such rooms are very much in demand. Both parents and doctors tell us this.
Another important solution for families with children would be the opportunity to make an appointment with a doctor for a family appointment, and now parents are often forced to record children for different times, which creates additional difficulties.
The sixth is perinatal screening and IVF [in vitro fertilisation]. We note a large number of appeals regarding the shortage of quotas for IVF, and most importantly, the high cost of related tests. In terms of perinatal screening, of course, if there is a financial opportunity, we propose to expand the program in the future examinations and future parents.
The seventh is the cases of refusal of hotels to accommodate families with several children in one room.
Bring Example: "It is not possible to book one room for a family with two small children–-hotels require the booking of two separate rooms. Payment for an extra bed in the hotel, although the child sleeps with his parents."
Offer to expand the practice of checking into one room for families with small children, as well as to provide in the hotel standard the possibility of providing large families with neighboring rooms with an openable interior door at a discount.
Eighth, members of the same large family cannot always buy tickets in the same compartment or nearby in a reserved seat to popular destinations, and online check-in for adjacent seats on the plane is paid.
Esteemed Vladimir Vladimirovich!
Yesterday, the Ministry of Transport already responded to your Direct Line and, in addition to the discount, is working with airlines to board children on planes next to their parents. And we, in turn, discussed with Russian Railways the creation of such opportunities for large families–-well, of course, to put them in the next compartment of small children is extremely problematic. They promise to launch a corresponding service next year.
Next The problem is the inadequacy of minibuses for the travel of parents with children's wheelchairs [strollers].
I will quote the appeal: "They are not allowed in a minibus with a stroller—there is no way to get to the clinic. There is no public transport in the urban settlement, which It would be possible to move with a baby stroller."
Offer to orient the regions to the purchase of public transport, including small size, adapted for use by mothers with strollers.
Rates by taxi. According to parents, prices for taxis with a child seat are on average one and a half times higher than usual. And even with such high fares, many drivers refuse to take orders, and you have to wait longer than usual for the car.
What can be done? For example, ask the relevant departments work with aggregators and offer them to reduce their own commission for the transportation of families with children so that interests drivers.
Refusals of car dealerships to provide discounts on domestic cars. The state provides a 20% discount on domestic cars for privileged categories, including families with minor children. We receive appeals that families are refused, despite the fact that the state fully communicates the limits to banks. Come on together we will make sure that this discount is provided.
As for the cars themselves. Mr President, on your instructions, a Russian car for civil servants, but it seems to us that no less important would be the creation of a large family Russian car. To some extent, it is known that AvtoVAZ has the appropriate groundwork for this work.
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!
All the voiced problems and questions can seem insignificant, but in the aggregate they determine the environment in which families with children live, determine the culture of attitude towards families, directly influence social attitudes and ultimately form the desire of families to have children.
We must make a large family the norm of life for our society through the formation of a family-centric social and business environment. As the above examples show, this does not always require large financial costs, and accounting is enough interests of families with children in making management decisions by the authorities, business, society.
For our part, we are ready to publicly recognize the best workers family-centricity and continue monitoring injustice in relation to families with children.
Esteemed Mr President, thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you, Thank you.
Shishkarev Sergei Nikolaevich, please.
Sergei Shishkarev [Chairman of the Board of Directors Delo Group]: Dear Mr President, Dear participants in the meeting of the State Council!
In the current economic environment, we see both difficulties and opportunities. Opportunities lie in the fact that in many sectors of the economy, after the departure of foreign companies, certain niches have been freed up, and this allows businesses to further develop, invest, and plan new production facilities. On the other hand, we note a significant shortage of workers and brains. These are constraints on production and effective demand. Therefore, when we talk about demographics and support for employees with family responsibilities, this is not only a social issue, but also an economic one.
Today, there are an average of five to six vacancies per official unemployed person. Taking into account the demographic forecast, the shortage of personnel, as you said, will only increase. We can solve some part of this problem through technology, by increasing labor productivity, but this is not enough. We need to look at least a generation ahead. Without an increase in the birth rate, we will not solve the problem of population decline, which means a shortage of personnel.
Many speakers have already mentioned that families should have at least two children, and the norm of life should be, as you said, a large family; but today, only 15 percent have such families. I sincerely share this attitude. I myself am a father with many children and a grandfather, but I also understand the responsibility of an employer for creating opportunities for employees to have large families.
It is important for people to have confidence in the future, in their employer, that they can build their family prospects for a long time. Therefore, we have formulated our mission as follows: companies should act as a demographic agent of the state, support and supplement the measures that are already available to families with children.
Realizing the urgency of the problem, a little more than two years ago we decided to join the implementation of the national project "Demography" and helped create the Mendeleev Institute for Demographic Policy.
Let me remind you that Dmitry Ivanovich was the 17th child in the family and made a huge contribution to the development of demographic science. According to his forecast, 600 million people should live in our country today.
We started by implementing a corporate program to support the birth rate, motherhood, and childhood in our company. The key measure was the corporate family capital of just one million rubles. We pay it out at the birth of the third and subsequent children. And of course, we welcome today's decision to exempt this corporate capital from taxation. In fact, there is an additional half a million that we can give to families for a second child or increase further payments.
Our program is focused not only on improving the quality of life, but also on improving the social status of families with children. The program is based on two main principles.
First – the more children there are, the more support there is. At the same time, it increases dramatically starting with the third child.
The second is social justice. All other things being equal, priority in support is given to large families. In our rather large social package, we first give a measure of support, for example, vouchers to camps, to those with many children, and then to everyone else.
Within the framework of the program, a family curator or corporate social manager works with employees, who helps to arrange not only our corporate benefits, but also state support measures. A survey by VTsIOM of our company showed that nine out of 10 employees, choosing a place of work, will go to a place where the family is supported.
Moreover, as soon as we adopted our own demographic standard, other companies started contacting us to share their experience. We thought about how to attract more entrepreneurs to the implementation of corporate demographic programs. In our dialogue with the state, we came up with the idea to create a rating, as you have already mentioned, to assess social responsibility, focused on the national development goals of our country. This is how the ECG rating appeared – it means "ecology, personnel, state". It assesses business health not only in terms of commercial success and financial performance, but also in terms of contributions to national development goals, and above all to demography as the most important national goal.
Our future plan is to launch kindergartens in enterprises and offices. We already pay for babysitter services to our employees. We want families to be even closer to each other. We are confident that this measure will also have a positive effect in terms of increasing labor productivity.
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, I can say with confidence that we have started moving along this path consciously, following the call of our heart and soul, and we are not going to stop. I speak like a father of five children. I will also continue my demographic program.
Yesterday we listened carefully to your live broadcast and heard that you have an icon and a bust of Lomonosov in your office. If you will excuse me, I have already spoken to some of the participants of the meeting, and we will send you a bust of Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev and such a unique photo from 1911 through your protocol. Here is a picture of the constable Nikolai Yershov from Rostov, on one side stands he, mother, and in the middle of 10 sons, ready to serve their Fatherland. I hope that these rare items will also find a worthy place in your office.
Thank you so much.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you for what you are doing for your employees and for the gift.
Colleagues, who would like to add something or comment? You are welcome.
G. Zyuganov [Head of Russian Communist Party in Duma]: Dear President, Dear members of the State Council,
Mr President, yesterday at the Direct Line, you singled out one of many questions. When you were asked about the preservation of the people and the family, you said that this is the main question that should start the work regional leaders and each collective and family. Today, there are 150 million of us left in the vast expanses–-from the Black Sea and the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean. In order to ensure the idea with which you came to power–- full sovereignty based on self-sufficiency–-you need to have a minimum of 200-250 million. It directly depends on the family, and above all a large family.
There is a problem with large families. My son has five sons, my daughter three. I know from my own experience how to educate, teach. For more than 350 years, my family has been teaching on earth, teaching all subjects except a foreign language.
Today, this problem is exacerbated by the fact that a war of annihilation has been declared on the Russian world. I want to remind everyone that since 1991, the Russians have lost 31 million people, lost 20 in the war. And the further decline of Russians means the impossibility of solving problems of neither security nor sovereignty. In order to support and implement the topic related to a large family, wonderful and interesting proposals were made here. But in many respects it will depend on the agreed policy of the State Duma and our Government, which works much more efficiently than the previous one. I can say this, I myself have been working in the Duma for many years: We are considering budgets, we have proposed the Victory Programme, the Development Budget, and 21 sectoral laws, and we have paid special attention to the people's enterprises that you have supported in the most active way.
I don't want to offend anyone, but we need to understand perfectly well that in order to realize the idea of a large family, it is necessary that one capable, literate dad have at least three children, otherwise there will be no extended reproduction. And for this, he must feed his wife, who will be sitting in this "kindergarten", four elderly retired parents and himself. That is, he has to work and plow for eight people.
In order for him to fulfill this function, he must be a person with excellent health and have access to all the benefits associated with education. He must undergo retraining every three to five years. He should be able to provide his children with access to all the benefits – not just information, but also those that harden the soul and create favorable conditions for everyday life. A person must have at least a specialized secondary education, preferably higher education, and be well equipped with modern high-performance technology. You clicked on it beautifully yesterday, it looked very modern, extremely important and necessary.
Therefore, we need to add at least another 10 trillion to the budget approved by the Duma. The last time the Duma approved the budget, you delivered a Message two months later and added at least seven trillion rubles for social services, children, teachers, doctors and housing. And we had to urgently rebuild our work.
In this regard, I would like you to pay attention to the package of laws that we have submitted to the State Duma. Many ministries have discussed, supported, and our entire team has spoken out. Volodin supports us in many ways, but unfortunately these laws have not yet been implemented. There is a whole package of measures attached to them, now there is no way to disclose them, 10 special problems and sections that are thought out, supported, and well equipped, including as a result of the work of our large group of scientists and specialists. In the faction, every second or third person has an academic degree. These are the top 10 priority proposals.
And I would like to congratulate the President and all of us on the Day of the Security Service Worker, because in war conditions, state security depends on each of us. When we say today that we will only be satisfied with a victory, victory means first of all personal mobilization, and personal mobilization requires special responsibility and hard work.
I believe that in the field of education, enlightenment and work with large families, the character and opportunity of each person and each man is shown.
We once visited Artek when you were taking all of us to Crimea after returning home, and there we agreed to implement this program as much as possible. You have instructed us, and the Duma and my comrades have fulfilled everything. Today Artek is the best place on earth. 60 new facilities have been built there. I thank the ministers who were there.
There we show an example of true friendship and care for children, their professional, competent upbringing and training.
In this regard, following your instructions, we took 22 thousand children from new territories to your “Bullfinch” holiday home, organized two–week trips for them—from Red Square, VDNH, the school of craftsmen, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. They are turning into full-fledged citizens of our beautiful Homeland before our very eyes. But many of their heads are disfigured by Soros' textbooks and the Bandera upbringing that hit Ridna Ukraine. I was shocked. They sent 4-5 Bandera teachers to each school, paid them four salaries, and disfigured beautiful children. They are quickly undergoing social adaptation, but we will now have to do this work for everyone.
In order to congratulate them on the New Year, in the next two days we will send 200 thousand gifts and the 132nd convoy, which supports our children who are bravely and worthily fighting on the front line, schools, children, and children who are in hospitals.
Once again, I would like to congratulate you all on the New Year and thank you that the President brought the main topic--the topic of family, childhood and the future of the country—to the meeting of the State Council. I think that this will give a very important boost to strengthening our security and real sovereignty. I am sure that the country will win and get it for sure.
Good luck to all. Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.
Sergey Mikhailovich, please.
S. Mironov: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, let me also congratulate you on the Day of the State Security Worker, as you are directly involved in this.
At yesterday's "Direct Line" you talked a lot about the issues that were submitted to the State Council today. I would like to draw your attention to the Government's Strategy of Action for implementing the Family Demographic Policy and Supporting Large families in the Russian Federation until 2036. It is very good that the name of this strategy includes the word "action". But if you look at the indicators that are included in this strategy (I pay attention, this is a strategy), then yesterday on the "Direct Line" you absolutely correctly said: for simple reproduction, you need at least a birth rate of 2.1, and for everything to be good in general, you need 2.3.
And here, if the goal is 1.6 by 2030, and 1.8 by 2036, then let's name things by their own names, this is extinction, this is not the strategy of our country. You’re absolutely right to say that there should be many more of us. And in this regard, there is specific examples. I will not touch on it, there are questions. And in terms of child mortality, this is also probably not quite in line with the strategy. But I want to make connections, to say that indeed, if a strategy is developed, there must be a strategy for population growth, and any growth is only a fertility rate above two.
In this regard, I would like to make a few proposals.
We have a wonderful title and the order of the "Mother Heroine" - 10 children. But it still comes from the Soviet Union, and there really were large families with many children. Today, it seems to me, if a woman has given birth to five or more children, maybe we should introduce degrees? If a woman has given birth to five or more children, is the order of the "Mother Heroine" of the second degree, and if she has given birth to 10 or more children, then the "Mother Heroine" of the first degree?
Of course, you need to think about the progressive scale of maternal capital, because if we encourage the birth of the first child, we must stimulate the birth of the second and third child. Accordingly, the family should receive more for the second than for the first, and for the third even more than for the second.
A separate issue, and you also spoke about this yesterday, is that we have regions where the birth rate is less than one-third. Unfortunately, these are huge numbers in the Central Federal District, in the Northwestern Federal District. Of course, we also need maternity capital to in some way increase such regions.
We have already talked about housing today, but I would like to draw your attention. We have Galina Petrovna Khovanskaya is constantly struggling with the program of rented houses of social Use. Well, they will not be able to afford a mortgage, even a preferential one; many families will not be able to pull it off, but you have to live. They reported here, and it is absolutely right if you start talking, What stops a woman in the first place? Housing. Because if there is no housing, accordingly, problems arise.
A good proposal was made by our colleague Yana Lantratova about students who study full-time at institutes and colleges. If they get pregnant and they can't afford it, they are forced to quit study, then, let's say, pay them at least minimum wage per month. And it is nice that the Ministry of Science and Education supported this initiative. I hope it will become law.
And one more problem. My fellow MPs are present here. We all receive at least one letter about alimony every day. Poor women are looking, they can't find it, they suffer, children suffer because there is no money now. And this idea of creating an alimony state fund, from which, accordingly, the minimum subsistence at least in the subject of the Federation would pay the state, and the state would have found this "hare runner" who runs around and does not pay the due money, would be collected, and even with interest from him, and so that the woman doesn’t have to do this.
In conclusion, I would like to agree. You said this yesterday, that the working day of each head of the subject should begin and end with the solution of complex tasks to increase the birth rate and demography. I am sure that today's State Council will give the necessary impetus in this direction, because if we already do strategy, then it is necessary to make revolutionary proposals. Indeed, we need a breakthrough, and this breakthrough is possible, and everything is done to ensure that We have it in our country.
Thank you for your attention.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
Please, colleagues, who else? Please.
Yana Lantratova: Mr President,
Today, dangerous content permeates every corner of our children’s lives, through the Internet, through books and even through toys. Last year, Roskomnadzor blocked 660 thousand groups of dangerous content, of which 25 thousand groups were child pornography, 23 thousand groups were child suicides. Besides through the Internet, children are also recruited by the SBU of Ukraine. And this is not a disparate story. This is an information war. By the way, in the United States, 790 specialists in information warfare are trained per year, 75 in the UK, and 260 in Europe.
The problem of video games. When the child gets used to the image of the character, begins to think for him, to act for him, then this is a very strong sphere of influence on the child. That is why the United States is scientifically studying computer games as a propaganda tool to influence children.And therefore the rejection of traditional values is promoted through games, rejection of motherhood and the idea of a negative role for Russia. For example, there is a game where a person, a player, has to become a member ultra-nationalist Russian group, to capture people in the building Moscow airport and enter into a confrontation with Russian law enforcement agencies.
Books. Half of the modern books that are currently being sold are books by Western authors. What topics are promoted in the books? The theme of betrayal is "Live for your own pleasure", the theme of abandoning motherhood is the book "Toxic Parents. How to regain a normal life", the theme of anti-patriotism is the book "Soldatik". Quote: "The soldier took off his uniform, and no one accused him of being a deserter." And this book is sold during the period of the SVO, when children are waiting for their fathers from the war zone. Or the book "Dictionary of the Urals", where it says " Ivans are stupid Russians "(this is a quote) and "rot" is to live within the Russian Federation, where I was born, there I rotted." And these books are being sold.
A toy is an image that a child grows up with. Previously, there were also negative characters, but good defeated evil. And now the demonization of toys begins, dolls in coffins, I myself saw the sale of these dolls in the "Children's World", monster dolls and so on and so forth.
And the strangest thing is that we have a popular player who distributes these toys – Mattel, which operates in the United States. The largest sales market is Russia. So, the company Mattel has created the country's first toy "Barbie-transgender doll". In 2022, it transferred a million dollars to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in 2023, 100 percent of the new toy sales line was transferred to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. That is, they sell us alien values, and then for this money they fight against us. And such threats go to children through clothing, through music, and through other areas.
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,
All the problems I have mentioned require legislative regulation. We have created an interdepartmental group both in the State Duma and on the basis of the State Council Commission "Family". With your consent, we will prepare appropriate legislative initiatives to protect our children. This is not a matter of censorship, but of national security.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: I agree completely, there is nothing to comment on.
So, please, who else? Please, yes, of course, Vladimir Abdualievich.
It is absolutely clear that the birth, upbringing, preservation of children, the opportunity for them to fully realize themselves in the interests of the country, glorifying their family, is the most important task.
I would like to say now that I think there is complete unity at this big table and that today, thanks to the changes in the Constitution, supported by the majority of our residents, we, the legislative power, are participating in the formation of the executive power. The issues that we are working on together have been discussed quite extensively today. Problems need to be solved.
I believe this is the beginning of a lot of work. I listened carefully to my colleagues; everything that is said, of course, deserves attention. We are encouraged by the work that is currently being done jointly with the Government in the State Duma.
An extreme example: making decisions on migration is a very painful topic. We worked together, discussed it, consulted with people, invited parliamentarians of the countries of origin of migrants, brought their position to them and came to a decision. It's not completion; it's a process.
Therefore, I am convinced that everything that we have said and listened to today will receive a legislative assessment; and the decisions that we will work out, as always, together with the Government, experts and, most importantly, people who really want their children to have a future, to be alive and well, so that their safety–-neither moral, nor spiritual, nor physical--is not threatened.
First of all, I would like to say how important it is to discuss these issues–-family policy issues–-on the State Council platform, because there is an opportunity to align federal and regional measures. After all, a large share of social policy is given to the regions.
The topic of family and demography is very dear to me personally, as a mother of many children. I worked on this issue when I was the Commissioner for Children's Rights, and I am currently working on it in the State Duma, and I am the head of the United Russia commission set up on behalf of you, Mr Putin.
Over the years, work has been built with relevant departments, experts, the scientific community, and parent organizations, and family MFCs have been opened. Over the past year alone, more than 50 laws related to social protection and support for families with children have been adopted. The State Duma pays special attention to supporting student families and families of participants in a special military operation.
And recently, Mr Putin, you have voiced the most important tasks and vectors, in my opinion. Today, listening to our colleagues, we can see how the lack of a solution in this area affects the deformation of the solution in many industries. You said that it is necessary to make sure that the main thread through national projects is aimed at solving the problems of families with children. And the second is to create conditions for changing the demographic situation.
I consider them to be key and, of course, I cannot do without examples. For example, about the development of the tourism industry. Money was allocated for the industry. Unfortunately, there were no rooms for families with four, five children or seven, like mine. Now about the joint offer The Ministry of Economic Development has decided that in each hotel that is supported under the program of preferential lending, at least five percent of all rooms must be family rooms. And, of course, it is also important to ensure the availability of these rooms, It is possible to make them free for toddlers, for children under six years old.
Or industry: clothes, toys, stationery. In addition to quality and accessibility, they must also convey our values. For example, together with colleagues from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, for the first time since Soviet times, we produced such notebooks–-these are the crew of the Alyosha tank–-who met with you. In the same way, our children should be surrounded by all the best: clothes, toys that broadcast our values, what is important and dear to us.
Construction. Today, master plans are being formed for cities. In Chuvashia, together with our colleagues, we decided to first hold a survey among members of large families, young people, families of participants in a special military operation, in order to find out what is important to them, what they need, so that it is included in the master plan. And now the attunement will be Provided.
It is important to build a family-oriented approach in all areas: transport, construction, medicine, support measures, culture, media, and so on. What do we offer? We propose to consider the possibility of introducing amendments to the Government's regulation on the state program management system of the Russian Federation, ensuring that performance indicators reflecting family demographic value are included in state programs and national projects. Through this approach, we will be able to build a systematic work and set priorities for all industries.
And speaking about demographic issues, I would say that in addition to reconfiguring and upgrading all national projects and state programs, specialists in this area are needed. Currently, 46 percent of all funds allocated for national projects will be spent on the national project" Family " – plus 75 billion over six years for regions with a low birth rate, to finance regional demographic programs. We have reviewed these demographic programs and, analyzing them, conclude that it is necessary to train specialists in this area.
In order to make accurate decisions based on forecasts, surveys, conduct monitoring, adjust regional programs, own and work with information, figures, and understand the nuances of the most complex process, you need special knowledge. At the initiative of our party commission for maternity protection and family support, together with the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation, a professional standard for a demographer has been developed.
The issue of developing an educational standard is currently being actively worked out with the Center for Demographic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with the Ministry of Science. Then, in some regions, we opened human resources centers in the field of demography. During the first year of operation of such a center in Yekaterinburg, the program "Demographic Policy of the region and social analytics" was created. Budget places were allocated for it, and the first recruitment took place in 2024.
In the absence of a special executive authority for family and demography, we work with the regions to set up project offices for demographic policy, for example, in the Vologda Oblast, which organize and coordinate all work in the region. We suggest that the Ministry of Science of the Russian Federation, together with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, develop a standard for providing regions with specialists in the field of demography.
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, in conclusion, as a mother, I would like to say that I thank you for the decisions that have already been made today and for paying special attention to the topic of family values. It is absolutely correct that you speak of it as a spiritual phenomenon.
Recently, the State Duma held a meeting with various families: multi-generational, young, and large families. There are eleven members of a special military operation in one of the families. Truly, our families today are our treasure, our main asset. They fight for their children and wives on the front line. When I go to the liberated regions, I see how proud they are of Russia today, Mr Putin, and how proud they are of their President.
I ask you to consider our proposal, and we-each in his own place - will hold our own front for the sake of our children.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Please, colleagues, who else?
I ask you to.
L. Slutsky: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!
For more than a year, we have been working with colleagues from all factions in the State Duma on this crucial issue. We need to do the seemingly impossible–-to make Russia a country of large families again in the near future.
This archivist task lies on the shoulders of our generation, especially in the next few years we need to achieve a qualitative tectonic, I would say, shift in this direction. This is indicated in many of your program speeches, Mr President.
The work started with our extended meeting of the LDPR faction with the participation of Tatyana Golikova, where we developed approaches to fundamental problems in this vital and urgent area.
Of course, I would like to note that it is important to develop our national invention and heritage–-maternity capital and family mortgage capital. We welcome your decision to extend family mortgage for the secondary market, especially for those settlements where housing is practically not being built today. This is extremely important; we have repeatedly talked about this.
We also need to pay attention to the shortage of doctors in the country. According to Mikhail Murashko, who is present here, we are short of about 25,000 doctors in the country and about 50,000 paramedics. It is necessary that this does not apply to specialists in the field of pediatrics, neonatology, obstetrics and gynecology, which are native fields for the same Mikhail Albertovich Murashko.
This is done very simply. Mikhail Vladimirovich [Mishustin] was made such proposals. The new is the well-forgotten old: mandatory distribution from medical universities and colleges. Work for three years on the country that gave you a higher medical education, maybe a year and a half in new regions, in the Far East. This is necessary additionally study. But this will make it possible to eliminate this problem, which is now slowly growing every year, in a short time.
One more time. The fact that there are not enough pediatricians somewhere is a bleeding problem, and it needs to be addressed. It is necessary to create conditions–-as many governors do—for specialists who are distributed. This is especially important for the regions of demographic winter–-special service housing for doctors and pediatricians should be introduced in the regions of demographic winter. It worked–-and after some time, for example, after five years, this housing became property.
I would like to emphasize once again that many of our regions have positive experience in this area: of course, the system of subsidies to young families, the system of benefits, and the system of incentives for young doctors and many other things that have been developed at the State Duma are cited by representatives of all factions over the past year.
I think we will summarize it in the near future, and based on our discussion today, we will send it to you as soon as possible, so that it will be reflected in your decisions, the decisions of the Government. Representatives of all factions will work shoulder to shoulder on this important topic.
I would like to thank you, Mr President, and all those present for discussing this topic, which is a very sensitive and extremely important topic for our country.
We probably need to repeat these figures again—you spoke about them yesterday, and our colleagues from the State Duma spoke about them today: for simple reproduction of the population, that is, for its preservation, we need a total birth rate, that is, the number of children per woman-–2.1, and extended reproduction, 2.3.
According to the data for 2023, as you are well aware of these figures, we have a total birth rate of 1.41. And according to your decision, starting from January 1, 2025, those regions that have a total birth rate below this figure-–1.41–-and there are also 41 such regions—will receive additional financial support in the amount of 75 billion rubles in order to form regional programs supported from the federal budget to support the birth rate in their subjects Of the Russian Federation.
Once again, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that these are usually the regions of Central Russia, the North-West and the Volga region. In other regions–=Siberia and the North Caucasus region--the situation is somewhat better with the total birth rate, so the focus is mainly on the regions of the Central and North-Western Federal Districts.
Taking advantage of the fact that we are holding an extended meeting of the State Council today, I would like to address all my colleagues and governors on how important it is to pay attention to the content of the programs that will be formulated. The year 2023 and part of 2022 were devoted to the fact that our colleagues and governors still analyzed together with us the demographic situation that is developing in the relevant territories and in the relevant regions.
That is why we have specifically singled out subsidiary support for regions, because regions with different national, demographic and geographical features need their own support measures. But nevertheless, the Minister spoke today, reporting on what we expect in the framework of the national project "Family".
I would like to draw your attention once again to this: a so–called "demographic menu" has been created for those regions that will be supported from the federal budget--for this 41st one. And among this "demographic menu," three areas of development, one of which concerns the development of infrastructure and services; I will not dwell on it. The other two are measures for pregnancy and birth payments and payments that are related to supporting housing issues, that is, what families really care about today.
Today, our colleagues from the State Duma spoke about the need to support the birth of third children. Just as part of this" demographic menu " that we offer, we recommend that the constituent entities of the Russian Federation allocate part of the funds that are allocated in the amount of up to 300 thousand rubles, if they deem it necessary, to allocate a higher amount, to support third and subsequent births.
I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that what we propose is [additional] to the decision that has been announced now Mr President, in your opening remarks, on increasing the allowance for students who study full-time, and bringing its size to the subsistence minimum: another 100 thousand as a lump sum payments when registering for pregnancy for a woman.
And I would also like to respond to those offers that have been made regarding housing. We also recommend regions compensate at least half of the cost of renting housing at birth of the first child until he reaches the age of three, as well as pay at least 70 percent of the rent at the birth of the second and subsequent children.
Now, as you know, we have a payment of 450 thousand rubles to pay off the mortgage for the third and subsequent children. Accordingly, we propose that within the framework of the financial resources that are being brought to 41 regions, the possibility of this repayment should be increased to one million rubles.
We strongly ask our colleagues from the regions to pay close attention–-I repeat once again–-to the formulation of these programs to increase the birth rate. They are of critical importance to us.
Dear Sergey Mikhailovich [Mironov], you said that our strategy, which was prepared by the Government, contains restrained indicators for increasing the total birth rate–-1.6 and further 1.8. This is not because we are restrained and unambiguous in our approach to solving this issue. These indicators take into account the number of women who are currently at the reproductive age, and the potential that we currently have. We are ready to once again evaluate these figures together with you.
But today, unfortunately, if we do not make responsible decisions together with our colleagues/governors and make this an absolute priority in our work… We have many priorities, all areas are important, but preserving and increasing the country's population is the main priority that we face not only for the next six years, but also for the long term. Therefore, all the measures that we are currently implementing in the framework of new national projects are actually family-centered.
Our colleagues also said that government programs should be focused on this. Believe me, colleagues–-for the first time, Mr Putin, on your instructions–-we have reloaded all national projects: wherever possible, we have included activities aimed at supporting families and creating this infrastructure. And in this sense, we appeal to our colleagues/governors: national projects are being implemented on your territory—you can always focus the activities of national projects in a comprehensive way on solving family problems.
As I am finishing up, implementing this pilot project in three territories–-in the Penza, Tambov and Novgorod regions, as Andrey Sergeyevich spoke about this today, we have seen several things.
All surveys show that housing, a workplace and getting an education are extremely important for our citizens who want to live in the territory where they were born and work in the territory where they were born. This is for today. I'm not talking about healthcare; it's a matter of course. But these are extremely important things, the result of the implementation of measures that we have seen even in one year. I won't give you the numbers right now, but the key things are that we have seen an increase in the number of pregnant women, a decrease in the number of abortions, and even, although not yet a year has passed, we have already seen a certain increase in the birth rate.
And the heads of municipalities who were involved in pilot projects saw the interest of all industry authorities and the focus on solving these problems: they created jobs, including under a social contract, and apartments were introduced. That is–-what I mean–-the problem began to be solved comprehensively.
I have a big request for everyone to take a comprehensive approach to solving this extremely important task for the country.
Thank you, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
So Colleagues, is there anything else? No? Enough?
You know, I would like to say the following in conclusion. Colleagues from the Duma spoke. They said that war had been declared on the Russian world. And so it is. They said that the 1.6 percent birth rate is not enough, because it is extinction. Simple reproduction alone is 2.1 percent. Advanced reproduction–-2.3. And we must strive for this. That's right, and I talked about it yesterday.
In the Soviet Union, it was 2 percent, but this is not enough. By the way, I believe that in the Soviet Union, these 2 percent were at the expense of those republics that are not currently part of the Russian Federation. Well, we need to check, of course, I'm almost sure that it is.
Now about Mendeleev's forecasts and calculations, about the fact that there would be 600 million in Russia. Surely this would have been the case if the internal political situation and the army had not been shaken up during the First World War, if they had not declared themselves a losing country unilaterally, and then the civil war would not have followed, which, God forbid, in my opinion, claimed almost 10 million people. This is probably even more than we lost during the First World War.
Then the Great Patriotic War, and after that we again rocked the domestic political situation. First, during the Great Patriotic War, the decline in the birth rate in 1943-1944, and then again rocked the domestic political situation, destroyed the Soviet Union, and again a failure in demography. Because the level of planning for the average citizen has been reduced to zero. It was not clear to the average person what would happen tomorrow. What can we talk about and how can we plan a family? And again the same failure as during the Great Patriotic War.
And of course, everything that Tatyana Alekseyevna has just said, and many of her colleagues have said, is very important. This includes financial support, healthcare, and housing. I said so myself. Everything needs to be done.
Just like you need to do what a colleague told you about toys; there are all kinds of contents, games. That's for sure; you need to pay attention to this, and I would ask first of all, the State Duma deputies should think, analyze and make a proposal, and then, together with the Government, adopt the appropriate decision.
But when I spoke about the need for financial support for families, what came to my mind? In the same EU countries or in Asia, in very prosperous countries, the situation is not only the same as in our country, but worse in many countries. In Finland the fertility rate is lower than ours, in Spain, I think, lower, in Japan, in South Korea, it is generally 0.7. This is the real extinction. And if we analyze that it is being done there in terms of supporting families, we will find out that there—to be honest, I haven't checked it, but I'm sure it's no less—for sure, the level of income per capita there is higher.
What is happening in Russia? We have the highest birth rate in the Chechen Republic and in Tuva. I just asked my colleagues sitting to my left and right to give me information about per capita income. III quarter of the current year. The per capita income in Chechnya is 42,936 rubles, and the per capita income in Tuva is 32,148 rubles. The average per capita income in the Russian Federation was 61,197 rubles in the third quarter. Feel the difference, right? 61,197 in the whole country and 32,000 in Tuva. And if you take Moscow and St. Petersburg, then the per capita income in Moscow and St. Petersburg is even higher, much higher, and the birth rate is much worse than in Tyva or Chechnya.
Why is this happening? And because in the Caucasus, in Chechnya, in particular, and in Tuva. You can take any attitude to the issues of tapism, clannishness, anything. But the institution of the family there is strong, you can relate to the customs, so to speak, of certain peoples, even those that are part of the Russian Federation, as you like. But this institution is traditionally strong. Even in the most difficult years, during the years of difficult events in the Caucasus, there were no abandoned people there.
You know, we have so many people sitting here right now. All of us are the expanded Government of Russia. We need to understand the dramatic situation in which the country finds itself due to demographic problems. And it is no coincidence that I said yesterday during the "Direct Line", addressing almost all my colleagues who are here, that you need to start your working day and end it with this.
I now say without any irony, we need to take an example from those of our territories where the level is high, to see why this is happening there. After all, very, very much depends on how we treat this institution of the family, how we support families, how we treat people. Of course, without material support in the modern world, little can be done. But I will repeat once again: both Europe and the Asian countries I mentioned are also a modern world, also a post-industrial society, and everything is being done there, but it is not working out.
You know, our former ambassador to Japan told me when I was there. We were driving in the car, and I said, "Listen, why is this situation here with the same birth rate? "" Yes," he said, " You know what's going on..." Young people there are up to 30, maybe 35 years old, according to surveys, in any case, it was then, I don't know now, maybe the situation has changed, but according to our ambassador, according to opinion polls, most young people do not have friends and do not want to. So much for the birth rate. This is one of the former prime ministers, we were sitting there with him, drinking sake, he says: "Maybe our sperm is not like that?" What does semen have to do with it? All over the world, everything is roughly averaged and about the same. The question is in the state of society. Therefore, toys are important and games are important for children, the mood of society, it depends on us. Morale, unity of society, so that we do not allow what happened during the same First World War–-internal buildup, the collapse of the army. On the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union, no matter how hard it was, they could not resist the internal swing and loss of the state.
All This is extremely important. All together, including family values, because it is all in a complex. If one thing falls apart, the other falls down at once. Soviet Union collapsed–-please, the result: a drop in the birth rate. The same as in 1942, 1943, 1944.
We need to pay special attention to all this: our history, traditions, and family values. Therefore, these are not empty words. If we think about it, if we deal with it as an important matter of state significance, then there will be a result. This is exactly what I want to encourage you to do.
And of course, I congratulate you on the upcoming New Year! I would like to thank the Government, the leadership of the State Duma, the Federation Council, all senators and deputies, leaders of factions, heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, regional teams, executive and legislative authorities for their fruitful joint work. In general, we can say that it was really fruitful, judging by the results that I spoke about yesterday and which are really there.
I am sure that we will continue to work with the same business spirit and success. For the sake of Russia, for the sake of the citizens of our country.
Thank you for your attention. All the best. [My Emphasis]
As Putin laid it out at the start, what’s being done is social engineering by the state to provide the stability that’s deemed essential for large family creation, and for the continuance of Russia as a sovereign state. As I interjected at length above, the issue as later revealed thanks to Tuva and Chechnya is cultural. Russian culture was once based on of rural farms and serfdom where all family members were important economic components, and that continued until the great rupture of WW2. Stalin’s rebuilding and continued emphasis on industrialization as a national security priority meant the employment of all human capital, so women were empowered to turn their backs on their cultural past. Men were affected as well—the patriarchic cultural structure was violently assaulted. Yes, there were some very amazing individual women who were both Heros of Labor and Mother Heros. Putin’s closing analysis is 100% correct—the demographic tragedies of the 20th Century are why Russia has so few people today. Resolving the problem will not be easy as described above. It will take much more than throwing money at it. Attitudes must change, and not just those of chauvinistic employers. A completely new cultural awareness must be built, but most importantly, that need must be seen, acknowledged and created.
European and Asiatic nations having very similar problems but for very different reasons must also face their reality and reconstruct their societies. The people within the Outlaw US Empire also face that issue and many more because of the damage their government has done in their names to Humanity—but very few people are even aware of that, which will make recovery and reconstruction even more difficult. Geopolitically, these important points can be made: Russia has a very high degree of motivation to solve its problems, while Europe and what might be termed Asiatic NATO are in very steep decline in THE key aspect that matters—demographics, from which all things follow. The amount of energy resources you have doesn’t matter a twit if you don’t have the people to make things with it. Human Capital remains the basis of national strength and thus remains a key component of geopolitics.
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Why is it a woman waits until she is 29 for having her first child is a question to answer.
Social engineering desires to have huge families may run into some difficulties if humanity’s nature isn’t understood.
Increase the number of smaller families seems more realistic in a prosperous country.
An overbearing State philosophy may curb the desire for sex as it’s so shy in its choices in selecting a mate? Or???
A Culture worshipping the God of Money is a sterile one as is evident in the west where to be either female or male seems confusing? Millennials not having children as its a burden.
Money as a God culture is a brutal one for the young.
Sure many basic practical details of encouraging the young to have a family will succeed.
Most ministers wanted to throw more money at the situation. Some created offices to study the issue, as if more time and waiting would be helpful. The real issue is the structure of society expecting women to work full time as the norm.
Why is it a woman waits until she is 29 for having her first child is a question to answer.
Social engineering desires to have huge families may run into some difficulties if humanity’s nature isn’t understood.
Increase the number of smaller families seems more realistic in a prosperous country.
An overbearing State philosophy may curb the desire for sex as it’s so shy in its choices in selecting a mate? Or???
A Culture worshipping the God of Money is a sterile one as is evident in the west where to be either female or male seems confusing? Millennials not having children as its a burden.
Money as a God culture is a brutal one for the young.
Sure many basic practical details of encouraging the young to have a family will succeed.
thanks for posting the news.
Most ministers wanted to throw more money at the situation. Some created offices to study the issue, as if more time and waiting would be helpful. The real issue is the structure of society expecting women to work full time as the norm.