Russian women who have ten or more children are given the honorary title of Mother Heroine. President Vladimir Putin is restoring that title, which was already used in the Soviet Union.
According to the state news agency TASS, the Mother Heroines also receive a reward of 1 million rubles, about 16,000 euros, for giving birth to so many children.
The award was introduced during World War II to financially support women with many children while many men fought at the front. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian government abolished the title.
Now the title is reintroduced during another war caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To be a Mother Heroine, the woman and her ten children must be Russian citizens. On average, only 1.5 children are born per woman in Russia.
