MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. Western countries need to adopt Russia’s measures for state support of families and boosting birth rates, Canadian journalist John-Henry Westen, CEO and co-founder of the media platform LifeSiteNews, told TASS.
Westen recently visited Russia as part of an international delegation invited by the Russian Orthodox Church.
"I learned that the governor in Nizhny Novgorod [Gleb Nikitin] is encouraging large families. In fact, he gives [parents] a million rubles per child. That's the equivalent of $10,000 per child. That's also stunning. Even more stunning than that, I learned that when a mother has her 10th child, President [Vladimir] Putin will invite her to a state dinner and all the mothers and their families that have their 10th child are given a Mother Heroine's Award. That's amazing. So definitely, that is something the Western nations can learn from and implement because they too are suffering depopulation. They've got to come to their senses. Russia still has work to do on eliminating abortion, but they're going down that road. Some in the West are still trying to expand abortion. They're already killing so many of their children. So yes, there's lots to learn from where Russia has gone," Westen said.
Since July 1, families in the Nizhny Novgorod Region who have given birth or adopted a child, regardless of income, are eligible to receive one million rubles, including federal maternity capital.
Combating destructive ideologies
The journalist expressed support for Russia’s measures to ban LGBT movements, Satanism, and recognize these ideologies as extremist. "Russia recognized that ideology is the poison to society. I support these measures as necessary. Banning propaganda for behaviors that are demonstrably harmful to physical health, societal demographics, and spiritual well-being is a rational policy for any society concerned with its future. Same with abortion - Russia cut its abortion rate so much in last 5 years and that's stunning," Westen added.
"Similarly, curbing the promotion of Satanism is a sane response to ideological extremism. Russia is demonstrating leadership in confronting this madness. The West talks about freedom of religions and then allows for just every insanity. I hope the West learns from this example before the consequences of inaction become more severe," he noted.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the "International LGBT Movement" as an extremist organization and banned its activities. In July 2025, the Supreme Court also recognized the "International Satanism Movement" as extremist and prohibited its operations in Russia.
A crisis of values in the West
Westen expressed hope that "sanity will have to once again prevail" in Western countries. "I do feel that they will turn around, but unfortunately, I think it will take suffering to get there. That's a very unfortunate reality of the human condition," he said.
"There's a German proverb saying 'Wer nicht h·ren will, muss f·hlen' which means those who will not listen must feel. It's unfortunate, but the countries will get there. We often need to feel it before we enact the policies, which will help the definite problem that's already there and can be seen by most people. But sometimes it takes that negative motivation. Unfortunately, in Canada, anyway, that's coming big time. In the United States, hopefully, they're making some moves now that are at least working toward doing something more sane. There's that possibility. We'll see what happens, but definitely, it needs to happen," Westen concluded.
Family as Russia’s top priority
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the family, calling it the cornerstone of society, and urged making large families the norm and a natural way of life. The head of state has prioritized protecting fatherhood, motherhood, and childhood, as well as strengthening the authority of the family institution and its values. To support families and birth rates, Russia has launched the national "Family" project, funded by the federal budget with approximately 18 trillion rubles ($216.6 bln) allocated until 2030.