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A child looks up from a cot at Hospital No. 15 in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, Russia, February 5, 2007. [Reuters]
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The governor of a central Russian province urged couples to skip work on Wednesday and make love instead to help boost Russia's low birth-rate.
And if a woman gives birth in exactly nine months time -- on Russia's national day on June 12 -- she will qualify for a prize, perhaps even winning a new home.
"It's normally something for the home -- a fridge or a television set," Yelena Yakovleva at the Ulyanovsk regional administration press office, said.
"It doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy."
Newly-weds Karina and Anton Bukhanovsky walked hand in hand down the main street of the regional capital of Ulyanovsk. They live in St Petersburg but travelled to Ulyanovsk to soak up the atmosphere on Wednesday.
"I used to live here," said Karina, aged 19.
"We plan to come back on the same day next year and try for a baby and the prize nine months later," she said.
Anton, aged 21, kissed her gently on the cheek and they strolled off arm in arm.
Regional governor Sergei Morozov told employers to contribute to a Kremlin campaign to boost the birth rate by giving young couples Wednesday off to have sex.
Russia wants to reverse a trend in which the population is shrinking by about 700,000 people a year as births fail to outpace a high death rate boosted by AIDS, alcoholism and suicide.
This is the third year Ulyanovsk region has dedicated a day to encouraging couples to produce more babies.
Prizes will extend equally to unwed women who produce children on the right day, though the biggest prizes will go to married couples.
On Russia Day this year, a family won a jeep after their fourth baby was born on the holiday.
Next year, the top prizes will include an apartment, Morozov said.
This year a record 78 babies were born on June 12 at the main hospital in the regional capital of Ulyanovsk, beating the 2006 total of 26, said chief doctor Andrei Malykh.
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(Agencies) |
俄羅斯中部某州州長要求已婚夫婦們本周三（9月12日）休假一天，在家“造人”，為提高俄羅斯的出生率做點貢獻。
如果一名婦女恰好在九個月后俄羅斯的國慶日（6月12日）那天生產，她將獲得獎勵，甚至將有可能得到一套新房。
烏里揚諾夫斯克州地方政府新聞辦公室的葉麗娜?雅克夫勒維說：“獎品通常是家居用品，比如冰箱或電視機。”
“生男生女都能得到獎勵。”
新婚夫婦卡麗娜和安頓?布克哈諾維斯基手牽著手走在烏里揚諾夫斯克州首府的大街上。他們居住在圣彼得堡，周三特意到烏里揚諾夫斯克去感受一下“氣氛”。
19歲的卡麗娜說：“我以前住在這里。”
“我們打算明年的這一天再回來，想九個月后生個寶寶、拿個獎。”
21歲的安頓輕吻了一下卡麗娜的臉頰，兩人手挽著手在大街上漫步。
烏里揚諾夫斯克州州長瑟蓋?莫洛佐夫呼吁公司老板們響應政府提高出生率的計劃，要求他們周三給年輕夫婦們放假一天，在家“造人”。
艾滋病、酗酒和自殺所導致的高死亡率超過了出生率。目前，俄羅斯的人口數量以每年約70萬人的速度遞減，政府希望能扭轉這一趨勢。
這是烏里揚諾夫斯克州第三年實行“造人日”計劃。
如果未婚媽媽恰好在國慶日那一天生產，也能獲得獎勵，但頭等大獎將頒給已婚夫婦。
在今年的俄羅斯國慶日這一天，一個家庭迎來了他們的第四個孩子，獲得了一輛吉普車的獎勵。
莫洛佐夫說，明年的頭獎中將有一套房子。
據主任醫師安德烈·馬利卡介紹，今年6月12日，共有78個嬰兒在烏里揚諾夫斯克州首府的中心醫院出生，超過去年的26個，創下新紀錄。
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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