November 13, 2024

Your Baby, Your Lottery Ticket


Your Baby, Your Lottery Ticket
Boris Chernyshov (right), Deputy Speaker of the State Duma.  Duma.gov.ru, Wikimedia Commons

Russia is among many countries scrambling to find a solution to its falling birthrates. 2023 saw the lowest number of births (1.264 million) since 1999.

Officials have tried raising the birthrate by using punitive measures such as a childlessness tax and a ban on "childfree" propaganda.

One member of the State Duma, Boris Chernyshov, has a more novel suggestion: create a lottery system to award new parents with prizes for each newborn. Under this program, Chernyshov suggests, the government could raffle off 10 apartments, 100 cars, and 1000 sets of household appliances every month to new parents. 

According to Chernyshov, participation would be automatic, based on the registry office lists, and the winners would be "ceremoniously" announced. In his words, "Every person has a passion. After all, in any lottery, only a minority wins, but thousands of people regularly buy tickets, wanting to try their luck. In the case of the raffle for newborns, the principle is the same, but only for the benefit of people, society, and the country."

The program, of course, fails to address the root issues that lead to declining birth rates: the rising cost of living and endemic violence on national and international scales

You Might Also Like

A Pro-War Childhood?
  • October 31, 2024

A Pro-War Childhood?

Russian children are being instilled with militant patriotism through plays, stories, cartoons, and toys.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955