A Russian lawmaker has proposed a system of progressive childcare benefits tied to the number of children in a family, aiming to stimulate birth rates and improve family well-being. Yana Lantratova, head of the State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, sent a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with her proposal.

Lantratova suggests that the benefit amount should increase with each child. For the first child, the benefit would remain at the current level of 40% of the average income for the past two years. For the second child, it would increase to 50%, for the third to 100%, and for the fourth and subsequent children to 150% of the average salary.

Lantratova believes that adopting this progressive system would help address the country’s demographic challenges. She references Rosstat forecasts, which predict a potential population decline to 130.6 million people by 2046 under a pessimistic scenario. The initiative aims to encourage larger families, reduce poverty, and boost the overall demographic policy of the country.

The deputy also provided potential benefit amounts for 2025. She estimates the minimum monthly benefit to be approximately 9,227 rubles and the maximum nearly 69,000 rubles. The average payment across the country is said to range from 15,000 to 20,000 rubles per month.