Pregnant Russian schoolgirls to get one-time payment in support from the state

The Governor of Russia's Oryol region, Andrey Klychkov, signed a decree approving payments of up to 100,000 rubles (about $1,200) for pregnant schoolgirls.

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Pregnant woman ultrasound examination

The new decree modifies a previous regulation from December 2024, which initially granted similar payments only to full-time students at colleges and universities.

Under the revised policy, financial aid will now be available to students enrolled in:

• General education institutions
• Vocational education institutions
• Higher education institutions

To receive the payment, applicants must register their pregnancy with a medical institution.

The program will be in effect from 2025 to 2027 as part of a regional financial support initiative aimed at improving demographics, boosting birth rates, and ensuring a decent quality of life for families.

Other Regions Also Support Young Mothers

At the end of last year, the Ulyanovsk region announced that starting in 2025, pregnant students would receive 200,000 rubles. Governor Alexey Russkikh stated that the benefit would be available to university and college students who had resided in the region for at least one year prior to enrollment and had a pregnancy of at least 22 weeks.

Additional support measures exist in other regions:

• Samara Region — 100,000 rubles for mothers aged 18-25 upon the birth of their first child
• Krasnoyarsk Krai — 100,000 rubles for mothers under 23
• Republic of Karelia — 100,000 rubles for student mothers under 25
• Perm Krai — 134,000 rubles for university or college students who give birth
• Chelyabinsk Region — 1 million rubles for young families where the mother gives birth to her first child before turning 23

Additionally, there were proposals to provide all pregnant students across Russia with monthly payments equivalent to the minimum wage (22,440 rubles as of early 2025). The Ministry of Science and Higher Education has expressed support for the initiative, but it has not yet been enacted into law. If approved, the payments would apply to full-time students at universities, research institutions, vocational schools, and advanced professional education institutions.

Details

Oryol Oblast is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Oryol. Population: 713,374 (2021 Census); 786,935 (2010 Census); It is located in the southwestern part of the Central Federal District, in the Central Russian Upland. In terms of area, at 24,652 km² (9,518 sq mi) it is one of the smallest federal subjects. From north to south, it extends for more than 150 km (93 mi), and from west to east—for over 200 km (120 mi). It borders Kaluga Oblast to the north-west, Tula Oblast to the north, Lipetsk Oblast to the east, Kursk Oblast to the south, and Bryansk Oblast to the west. There are 4,800 km² (1,900 sq mi) of black earth soils (chernozems) in the oblast, which amounts to three-quarters of the world chernozem reserves.