THE streets will be empty and the curtains drawn in the Russian region of Ulyanovsk as residents enjoy a Day of Conception public holiday to help stem Russia's demographic crisis and win great prizes.
Ulyanovsk Governor Sergei Morozov has declared September 12 a Day of Conception, and is giving couples time off from work to procreate. Couples who give birth nine months later on Russia's national day — June 12 — will receive money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.
"If there's a good, healthy atmosphere at home within the family, if the husband and wife both love each other and their child, they will be in good spirits and that will extend to the workplace. So there will be a healthy atmosphere throughout the country," Morozov told Associated Press. "The leadership (of the country) is interested in the family."
It's the third year that the Volga River region, about 550 miles east of Moscow, has held the contest. Just 311 women signed up to take part in the first competition and qualify for a half-day off from work. The next June, 46 more babies were born in Ulyanovsk's hospitals compared to the previous June, including 28 born on June 12, officials said.
Last year, more than 500 women signed up, resulting in 78 babies — or more than triple the region's daily average. So far this year, the region's birth rate is up 4.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
"I don't think people get pregnant just to get a prize on the 12th (of June) but if the dates coincide and they give you a ... car there's nothing wrong with that," said Yuri, a 28-year-old father-to-be who declined to give his last name.
Russia's population has dropped since the 1991 Soviet collapse, fed by declining birth rates, a low life expectancy, a spike in emigration and a frayed health care system. The country now has just 141.4 million citizens, making it one of the most sparsely settled nations in the world. And experts estimate the population could fall below 100 million by 2050.
Last year, President Vladimir Putin called the demographic crisis the country's most acute problem and announced a broad effort to boost the birthrate, including cash subsidies for couples giving birth to more than one child. Women who give birth to their second or third child receive $10,000 vouchers to pay for education or home repairs.
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