Vladimir Putin highly praised the Nizhny Novgorod region's experience in demographic policy.

      On October 23, 2025, the Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Gleb Nikitin, spoke at the first meeting of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy. He reported to the Chair of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matviyenko, on the results of implementing support measures in the region and on the implementation of key directions of demographic policy.

      The Council for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy was created by a decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. The head of state opened the meeting, addressing its participants with a welcoming remark.

      “The decision to have a child is, of course, a private, personal matter for each person, each family. However, by joint efforts we need to reach a point where people — above all, of course, young people — sincerely strive to attain the happiness of motherhood and fatherhood, to realize themselves in raising children and to be confident that the state will provide support at the right moment, so to speak, will lend a shoulder… In a number of regions local authorities are also actively involved in solving housing problems for large families. Overall, solving demographic problems and supporting families is the task of everyone, of all levels of government — from the federal government to municipalities. And it is important that regions are proactively proposing their own solutions here,” said Vladimir Putin.

      In particular, the president highly praised the experience of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

      “As an example of active regional policy in this area, I will note the work of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. The governor told me about this in detail when I was there on a working visit. This work includes a number of significant support measures. First of all, the regional family capital, which provides for monthly payments for three years after the birth of a child: the first, second and third and subsequent children. Moreover, support is provided to all families, regardless of the level of their income, simply on the fact of the child’s birth,” Vladimir Putin emphasized.

      Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Gleb Nikitin, in his report, spoke in detail about support measures for families with children and the initial results of implementing demographic support programs in the region. He noted that in 2025 Nizhny Novgorod Oblast launched the Five-Year Family Program. The region provides comprehensive support to families in three key areas. The first block of work includes preserving people’s reproductive health and increasing the accessibility of IVF procedures. The head of the region said that to this end a “Family Quarter” will be created in Nizhny Novgorod with the first state regional IVF center. The implementation of this initiative meets the goals of two national projects at once — “Long and Active Life” and “Family.”

      The second most important area of work provides financial support to families. Since July 2025, the “Regional Family Capital” has been available to all families in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in which children are born: taking into account the federal maternity capital for the first and second child, the amount of payments received by a family is more than 1 million rubles.

      “Our regional maternity capital allows the funds to be used for a wider range of purposes than the federal one — for example, to purchase a car. Funds from the region can be received in the form of a monthly ‘parent’s salary’ for three years, targeted payments, or a combination of the two options,” Gleb Nikitin explained.

      Also in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, in addition to the Ministry of Labor of Russia’s “Demographic Menu,” a support measure called “Gift for the Newborn” has been launched. This is an electronic certificate worth 20,000 rubles, which can be used to purchase various children’s goods from Nizhny Novgorod manufacturers.

      “We propose considering introducing the ‘Gift for the Newborn’ nationwide — with an obligation to purchase such goods from Russian manufacturers, which would also support the children’s goods industry,” said Gleb Nikitin.

      The third area of work to stabilize the demographic situation in the region is called “Emergency Demographic Assistance.” This is a program of psychological counseling for families and expectant mothers, whose main goal is to support women facing reproductive choices and to suggest ways to overcome existing difficulties. Specialists begin working with patients even before they contact the clinic. Fifty independent experts of various profiles consult women and help them make a decision in favor of giving birth.

      Gleb Nikitin also presented the practice of introducing thematic digital services in the region that turn complex administrative procedures into a convenient and understandable process. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast has already launched the interactive application “Wow, Parents!” as well as the portals “Family Navigator” and the “Calculator of Social Support Measures for Families with Children and Prospective Parents.” The latter solution is a unique digital product with no analogues in Russia, allowing users to obtain an accurate calculation of state support taking personal circumstances into account in an interactive format.

      In conclusion of his report, Gleb Nikitin said that Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is already seeing a steady decline in the total number of pregnancy terminations due to a reduction in abortions on a woman’s request. Based on the results for the first nine months of 2025, more children were born in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast than Rosstat had forecast.

      “In the future we plan to expand programs supporting families and prospective parents and to introduce other innovative measures to preserve and develop the region’s demographic potential,” added Gleb Nikitin.

      He also proposed that the possibility of full co-financing of programs similar to Nizhny Novgorod’s be considered at the federal level.

      “Across the country this is the most costly demographic measure in terms of expenditure, which, after three years of implementation, will require more than 40 billion rubles from the regional budget once it reaches full capacity. Given that demography is an unequivocal priority for the entire country, I would like to propose, taking into account the results of this program, if we see sufficiently positive effects, to consider moving to full co-financing of programs similar to ours, at least on a pilot basis. We are ready to share our experience with other regions wishing to introduce similar measures,” emphasized Gleb Nikitin.

      The Chair of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matviyenko, thanked Gleb Nikitin for the substantial work in the field of demographic policy.

      “Thank you for the presentation, for the great work you are carrying out, and personally, as the head of the region, as governor you are dealing with this issue on an ongoing basis. Now you have put on the ‘leader’s T‑shirt’ — and you must live up to it, maintain the standard you have set. Naturally, we will do our utmost to use and disseminate your experience. Thank you!” said Valentina Matviyenko.

      Recall that the national project “Family” started in the country in 2025 at the instruction of President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The new national project is the successor to the previously operating national projects “Demography” and “Culture.” It envisages measures that contribute to the comprehensive development of families: expanding support measures, creating conditions for active longevity of the older generation, and ensuring high‑quality and accessible medical care.