Support for Families and Development of Rural Areas Became Main Topics for Council of Legislators of Russian Federation

A meeting of the Council of Legislators of the Russian Federation was held at the headquarters of the IPA CIS. The event was conducted by the co-chairpersons of the Council of Legislators - Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko and Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin.

The main issues for discussion were increasing the birth rate, supporting families and developing rural areas.

Valentina Matvienko noted that for the Russian Federation, the issue of increasing birth rates is a strategic priority. It is important to analyze the real accessibility of existing measures, as well as to inform citizens about the benefits they are entitled to, and to increase the maternity allowance.

The Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation proposed to determine a single body of power that would deal with issues of supporting birth rates and family policy. This proposal was supported by the Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

Valentina Matvienko noted the successes in the integrated development of rural areas. She also paid attention to the need to develop educational institutions and reconstruct social facilities in rural areas.

Vyacheslav Volodin included the issue of demographics fateful for Russia. The Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation noted the need to study the issues of providing families with kindergartens and children's food.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova spoke about the demographic situation. There are 30 million children living in 24.5 million families in Russia. After a period of natural population growth in 2013-2015, there has been a decline. According to her, the maternity capital remains the most important part of the state demographic policy, the introduction of which had a significant impact on the growth of the level of second births.

Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Dmitriy Patrushev emphasized that 40% of Russian citizens live in villages and small towns. Under the comprehensive rural development program, funding from 2020 to 2024 amounted to almost 255 billion rubles.

Senators and deputies, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation Anton Kotyakov, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko, and representatives of federal and regional authorities, took part in the meeting of the Council of Legislators of the Russian Federation.