A forum "Large Family’s Russia" opened at the National Centre RUSSIA
July 9,
2025, the V All-Russian Forum of Large Families "Large Family’s Russia"
started at the National Centre RUSSIA. This important public platform
brought together NGO leaders, winners of All-Russian competitions,
representatives of government, business, and the expert community -- all those
who are responsible for the current agenda on family policy today, and who
support large families as a value and a norm.
Natalia
Karpovich, head of the "Large Family’s Russia" project, opened the
forum with an emotional address to the participants: "You and I have been
dreaming for all these five years, and the President has heard us — our dreams
have come true. But we still have many tasks ahead of us: housing,
education, healthcare, and a common welfare paiment. We will solve them wisely
and responsibly, and we'll invite the state to become a partner in this,"
Karpovich said, voicing one of the key objectives of the forum: strategic
partnership between the family and the state.
Elena
Fedyunina, Chairman of the Board of the Children's Support Foundation, stressed
that the project "Large Family’s Russia" has become a platform where
large families are shown as an important resource: "Together we managed to
declare large families as a social trend. Today, there are more than 2.7
million large families in our country. This means that 30% of children are
raised in large families. The numbers are significant, and they will
grow."
In the welcoming speech by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy
Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, there was
made an important point: "Every large family should be able to live in
prosperity and feel the recognition from society and the state."
Senator of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the
Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova
spoke about the necessity to strengthen the prestige of having many children in
all spheres of life, so that a large family would be perceived not as "a
lot of problems", but as "a lot of happiness". She recalled Valentina
Matvienko's idea that the principle of family-centricity should become the
yardstick of all government decisions.
Andrey Galkin, Director of Department of Demographic and
Family Policy at Russian Ministry of Labor, spoke about the systemic guidelines
of state policy in the field of family and demography. He presented the key
areas of the strategy until 2036, including the launch of an electronic
identity card for a large family, support for student families, expansion of
tax deductions, as well as preparation of a new family payment system starting
in 2026. "It is important that the family is at the centre of attention in
every field and industry. Only together will we be able to achieve our
goals," Galkin said.
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee Tatyana Butskaya
shared the interim results of the implementation of the regional
"demographic menu". According
to her, out of 41 regions which have received additional funding, 18 have
already demonstrated an increase in the birth rate. In her opinion, an important vector of
demographic policy should be the expansion of practice of providing such
support to the families disregarding the fact if these families are in need, or
not. According to her, today only 42 regions adhere to this principle, but this
figure is growing.
Sergey Rybalchenko, Chairman of Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation Sergey Rybalchenko, Chairman of Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation Concerning demography, protection of family, children and traditional family values, said: "Having many children is what we should strive for.should be a social norm supported by everyone. So that over time it would take root in society: having many children means well-being." He reminded that it is women over the age of 30 who give birth to three-quarters of third and subsequent children, and proposed launching the project "Mum. 30+", aimed at supporting and guiding women during this stage of life and reproductive period.
Rybalchenko also stressed that the topic of having
many children should be a systematic part of the national project
"Demography": "For many years we have been stressing that the
national project "Demography, family" should include a special
project regarding large families — "Large country", "Large
Russia", "Large family". And such a project appeared. Although
there is not much in it yet, only 5% of its total volume is seriously
elaborated, but I am sure that this project is the future."
Evgeny Pospelov, First Deputy Head of Department of Social
Development of Russian Railways, spoke about introduction of the corporate
demographic standard and 40+ support measures: from housing subsidies to
surcharges at the birth of a child. The company employs 47,000 large families,
20 of them raising 10 or more children.
State Duma deputy Denis Maidanov proposed developing the
All-Russian Father's Day as an independent and meaningful date. He stressed
that the role of a father in the family is support, giving an example, and
transfer of values. A symbol of the holiday, according to his plan, could be
planting of "father's trees" throughout the country.
So, the large-scale forum has started its work. As part of
the business program, participants discuss a wide range of topics. Among them:
prospects for Russia's demographic development; modern approaches to
stimulating fertility and supporting large families; increasing the prestige of
parenthood and strengthening family values.
A special section "Fatherhood and fertility:
demographic aspects" was held, where the cultural and social roles of
fathers in the modern family were discussed.
The forum also focuses on current ideas of communities of
large families, presented at the All-Russian competition "The Future is
Us". In 2025, 164 applications were turned in for the competition; the
results of the expert assessment determined 83 practices from 41 regions as
winners. All of them are included in the catalog on the platform
praktikaregion.ru. The award ceremony for the authors of the projects was one
of the key moments of the first day.
A highlight of the cultural program was the Russian Style fashion show, in which modelers and fashion designers with many children from different parts of the country presented collections of clothes and jewelry created as part of the competition. A virtual exposition of handmade products "Living traditions" also caused some interest.
Representatives of regional NGOs will participate in an intensive training program in the format of a project workshop "From an idea to a grant".
Event photobank
The stand of the Department Store of the National Centre RUSSIA became one of the most visited spaces at the INNOPROM 2025 International Industrial Exposition, held in Yekaterinburg from July 7 to 10.
On July 10, Regina Todorenko and Vlad Topalov will host the closing ceremony of the II All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts."
One of the central events of the day was the lecture titled "GROW: promoting local brands".