Russians offered cars for babies

by merrie | September 11, 2007 at 07:31 pm

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Last year, President Vladimir Putin declared
the demographic crisis the country's most
acute problem. The government is offering
cash
subsidies for couples giving birth to more than one child, women giving
birth to a second or third child would receive $10,000
cash vouchers to pay for education or home repairs.

Andrei Kartuzov, who won the last "make a baby" grand prize along with
his wife, Irina, said they had been planning to have another child
anyway.
In
2005, the first year's campaign in Russian program to increase birth
rates, there was an increase 46 more newborns compared to the previous
year before the program was begun.

There had been a decline
in Russia's population since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, due
to declining birth rates, low life expectancy,high levels of
emigration, poor health care systems and other factors.

Today's population in Russia is 141.4 million
citizens and experts estimate the decline
trend could result in below 100 million by
2050.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the effort has drawn snickers. According to one joke circulating on the Internet, regional university teachers -- after being ordered to draw up special activities for Wednesday -- proposed covering the floors of school gymnasiums with mattresses and dimming the lights.

In Ulyanovsk, everyone who has a baby in a local hospital on June 12
gets some kind of prize. The winners of the grand prize -- a locally
made SUV called a UAZ-Patriot -- are couples judged by a committee on
criteria such as "respectability" and "commendable parenting."