Published on: 2026-05-19
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova held another meeting of the Council under the Government on guardianship issues in the social sphere. On the agenda were the preliminary results of the implementation of regional programs to increase birth rates. The meeting was attended by council members and experts, representatives of the Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Education, and other federal agencies, as well as the Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in the Central Federal District Artur Niyazmetov, representatives of the Novgorod and Lipetsk regions.
“Regional programs to increase birth rates pursuant to the instruction of the head of state were adopted in 2023 and are currently an integral part of the national project ‘Family.’ The quality of program implementation and results directly depend on how thoroughly the regional leadership pays attention to demographic issues,” said Tatyana Golikova.
The government and regions are engaged in systematic work to resolve the priority task set by the President of the country, regarding population preservation, strengthening health and improving people’s well-being, and supporting the family. The attitude towards family policy is being reconsidered at the level of values, the interests of the family become the main focus, support for families with children is being improved, and they are being involved in the demographic agenda of employers.
All national projects include activities aimed at improving the quality of life for families with children. Family-centeredness is the main principle of the work of the Government and the regions.
In 2024, a corporate demographic standard was approved, developed jointly with employers and trade unions.
By order of the President, amendments have been made to the Tax Code, and from January 1, 2026, the one-time corporate payment exempt from tax and insurance contributions upon the birth of a child has been increased from 50 thousand to 1 million rubles.
Regional demographic programs are a “living” tool and can be updated as the socio-economic situation and public demands change.
In accordance with the Spatial Development Strategy, selected key settlements, 85% of which are villages, urban-type settlements, and small towns with a population of up to 50 thousand people, have been chosen. A master development plan is being developed for each one, and it is important that the needs of families are the focus of this work. The total fertility rate in rural areas is higher than in cities, and this trend should definitely be supported and developed.
The Council has made a practical contribution to the development of additional demographic measures. As a result of the pilot project “Reproductive Health,” since 2024, reproductive health monitoring has been introduced, which has already been undergone by more than 17 million people. New types of support for women in situations of reproductive choice are being used, thanks to which more than 48 thousand pregnancies were saved last year. Moreover, support measures such as social nannies, rental points for newborn items, compensation of part of the rent payments for housing for families with children, and rooms for mother and child in universities are being actively promoted.
The government has approved a “demographic menu” – from it, regions independently choose support measures, including their own programs to increase birth rates. Additionally, annually, 12.5 billion rubles are allocated from the federal budget for the implementation of support measures received by 41 regions with a low total birth rate coefficient.
As of November 1 of the current year, 6 regions – Tambov, Kemerovo, Moscow, Kaluga, Kaliningrad Oblasts, and the Udmurt Republic – have reached the target indicator for 2025 in terms of family support measures. Additionally, 14 regions demonstrate a high level – from 82% in Ryazan Oblast to 97% in Smolensk Oblast.
Over the nine months of this year, compared to the same period in 2024, the greatest increase in the number of women registering as pregnant was in the Amur region (29.1%) and Krasnoyarsk Krai (18.4%).
By the number of women expecting their first child, the highest growth rates are in the Amur region (30.7%), Krasnoyarsk Krai (18.5%), Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (16.9%), Novgorod region (11.7%); for the second child – in Tatarstan (98.1%), Amur region (24.2%) and Krasnoyarsk Krai (13.6%); for the third and subsequent children – in Smolensk (80.8%), Amur region (33.7%), Krasnoyarsk Krai (24%).
At the council meeting, presentations were made by Elena Beregovaya, head of the council section “Regional Development and Complex Social Issues,” director of the charitable foundation “Image of Life”; Lilia Ovcharova, head of the council section “Senior Generation,” vice-rector of NIU HSE; Fyodor Lukyanov, council member, chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on the Family, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood of the Russian Orthodox Church; Artur Niyazmetov, deputy plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Central Federal District; Olga Beloglazova, deputy governor of Lipetsk Oblast; Anna Timofeeva, deputyGovernor of the Novgorod Region, Igor Shpitsberg, expert of the council, head of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “Center for Rehabilitation of Childhood Disabled “Our Sunny World”.
Following the results of the meeting, Tatyana Golikova instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development to take measures to increase employers’ awareness of the corporate demographic standard, the Ministry of Labor, together with the regions, to finalize regional programs to increase birth rates, including in them all activities established by the current national projects and ongoing federal projects, and the heads of all regions to take personal control over the implementation of regional programs to increase birth rates.
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