The former Commies are getting a day off to procreate, and win prizes while they're, literally, doing it. For the third year in a row, the Russian region Ulyanovsk is once again celebrating Sept. 12 as the Day of Conception, and is giving couples time off from work to procreate.
The state hopes for a population explosion next June, on Russia's national day. Couples who "give birth to a patriot" during the June 12 festivities win will money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.
The number of competitors, and the number of babies they produce, has been on the rise since Ulyanovsk began the holiday and prizes. Russia, has one-seventh of the entire earth's land surface, but only 141.4 million citizens. . .and the population has been declining since the 1990s.
President Vladimir Putin's last state of the state address called the demographic crisis the most acute problem facing Russia and announced various efforts to jump start Russia's birth rate, including cash giveaways.
The Governor of Ulyanovsk, Sergei Morozov, tossed a few more incentives into the kitty for the campaign by handing our prizes. The 2007 grand prize went to Irina and Andrei Kartuzov, who won a UAZ-Patriot, a sport utility vehicle. They also gave away video cams, TVs, refrigerators and washing machines.
