Money for prolific mums

Russian President Vladimir Putin has revived a Soviet-era award for women who have 10 or more children, as Russia faces a demographic crisis that has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Joseph Stalin established the ‘‘Mother Heroine’’ title in 1944 to encourage large families after the death of tens of millions of Soviet citizens during World War II. More than 400,000 women received the award before it was scrapped in 1991. Under Putin’s decree, women will get a medal and a one-off payment of 1 million roubles (NZ$25,880) after their 10th child has reached its first birthday, on the condition that the other nine children are still alive.