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Taking part in the meeting were large families from the Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Magadan, Novosibirsk, Smolensk and Chelyabinsk regions and the republics of Adygeya and Karachayevo-Circassia.

The Order of Parental Glory was established in 2008 by a Presidential Executive Order and is awarded to parents (adoptive parents) who are raising or have raised seven or more children, providing proper care for their health, education and physical, spiritual and moral development.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends.

I congratulate you on International Children’s Day. As usual, on this day we also celebrate large and close-knit families who have been awarded the Order of Parental Glory.

Such families enjoy particular respect in our country and society. You devote your whole lives to your children while also selflessly doing daily chores, which is not simple or easy. You are working hard to promote your children’s all-round advancement and to help them develop their skills and talents at various centres and groups.

It is also admirable that you also find time to help others and take part in the volunteer movement, which is a socially significant cause and also a towering spiritual and moral example to your own children. This is very important for their development as upright people and good, courageous, hard-working and compassionate citizens.

Families with many children are the living embodiment of our traditions of mutual support, generosity, care for the young and respect for the elderly, as well as our morals and family values, which we regard as absolute and unconditional, no matter how much some forces have been trying to erode or challenge them.

I am sure that support for motherhood, childhood and the family, especially large families with many children, is a vital mission for the state and evidence of its concern for the country’s future. We are working consistently to improve support measures and programmes.

I am referring, in part, to the indexation of maternity capital, the introduction of child allowances for low-income families, and many other benefits. Of course, today I would like to learn about your assessment of their implementation.

It is essential to proceed from the real needs of people and Russian families in the area of family support, measures to improve demographics, social security, the employment market, the economy, education and parenting, as well as when making additional decisions in all areas of state policy.

Therefore, I would like to repeat that it is extremely important for us to know your views so that other people in the same circumstances, people with large families, will really see that things are changing for the better, and of course, practical benefits of the operation of government agencies.

I would like to add in his connection that different regions still have different criteria for a large family. Nevertheless, this material and seemingly run-of-the-mill issue is of major importance to people’s lives. I have instructed the Government to establish a unified status for a large family at the federal level, and I would like to ask our colleagues to expedite this work.

Also, a large family certificate must be valid throughout the country, both in paper and digital form. This will help families, for example, to continue to use their benefits when moving from one region to another.

We need to increase the availability of flexible employment for parents with small children, as well as the availability of preferential mortgages, including for families with many children, and create conditions for young (student) families to combine studies with taking care of their children.

I would like to point out that the current system of social guarantees for families in Russia now includes the new but actually historical regions of Russia: the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

In conclusion, I would like to once again congratulate all children, parents, teachers and mentors on International Children’s Day and to wish them health, happiness and all the best.

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Vladimir Putin: I would like to close by following up on what a participant here said about her friends asking the infamous question, “What is the point of having so many children?”

You know, I tried to respond to this earlier, but here is what I would like to say in closing. When someone says these words and thinks along the lines of why have so many children, why have more children, or what is the point of all this, what do they mean by that? This question goes hand in hand with a sub-question which people often say out loud: “You should live for yourself.” Am I right? This is true. Right away, on a personal level, I have another question: “What does it mean to live for yourself?” Clearly, it means to enjoy life. But those who say so do not understand that children are the source of the greatest pleasure and happiness in life.

I want to congratulate you on knowing what real happiness is all about. And I want to wish you luck in all your endeavours and undertakings.

Happy Children’s Day.

All the best. I congratulate you on the state decorations as well.

I hope that the trip to Moscow will be pleasant and educational for all of you and will bring positive emotions to your families and children.

Happy holiday! All the best to you. I wish you luck. Goodbye.