The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has signed a decree defining criteria for large families and has also approved a range of support measures for them. Moreover, the document includes recommendations for officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, suggesting, among other things, the provision of free prescription drugs to children under six years of age from large families.
“Recommend <…> to establish the following measures of social support for large families: free provision of prescription drugs to children under six years of age,” the decree says.
The status of a large family, in which there must be at least three children, is established indefinitely, however, the provision of social support measures “is carried out until the eldest child reaches the age of 18 years or the age of 23 years, subject to his full-time education in an organization engaged in educational activities.” .
Families like these are provided with a range of support measures in the realm of labor relations. They also enjoy benefits such as early assignment of an insurance pension and free access to cultural institutions. In total, in Russia, according to government data, the number of large families with three or more children is currently 2.3 million
“Over the past five years, the number of third and subsequent children, despite all the demographic difficulties, has been growing in our families. It has increased over the past five years by more than 11%,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said earlier.