Mother Heroine
Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox award
Mother Heroine (Template:Langx) is an honorary title that was used in the Soviet Union, awarded for bearing and raising a large family. The state's intent was not only to honor such large families, but also to increase financial assistance for pregnant women, mothers of large families, and single mothers, and to promote an increased level of health in mother and child.<ref name="sovietdecree1944">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The award was established in 1944 and continued to exist until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. On 15 August 2022 Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree which revived the honorary title in Russia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Award history
The honorary title "Mother Heroine" was established on 8 July 1944 by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.<ref name="sovietdecree1944"/> Its statute, including multiple increases in available state pensions for these families or single mothers, was amended 15 times from its original establishment until the last amendment contained in Decree number 20 of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of 7 May 1986.Template:Citation needed
Award statute
The honorary title "Mother Heroine" was awarded to mothers bearing and raising 10 or more children. The title was accompanied by the bestowal of the Order "Mother Heroine" and a certificate conferred by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. It was awarded upon the first birthday of the last child, provided that nine other children (natural or adopted) remained alive. Children who had perished under heroic, military or other respectable circumstances, including occupational diseases, were also counted. The award was created simultaneously with the Order of Maternal Glory (7-9 children) and the Template:Ill (5 or 6 children).<ref name="sovietdecree1944"/>
They were also entitled to a number of privileges in terms of retirement pension, the payment of public utility charges, and the supply of food and other goods.<ref name="sovietdecree1944"/>
Approximately 430,000 women were awarded this title during its existence.Template:Citation needed
If worn with honorary titles of the Russian Federation, the latter have precedence.<ref name="decree1099">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Award description
The honorary title "Mother Heroine" entitled the recipient to wear the Order "Mother Heroine", which was a gold star with silver straight rays between the arms forming an inverted pentagon; it was suspended by a silver-plated ring through the suspension loop to a metallic, red-enamelled scroll-shaped mount bearing the gilt relief inscription, "MOTHER HEROINE" (Template:Langx).<ref name="sovietdecree1944"/>
Post-Soviet awards
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the award was abolished in most post-Soviet republics.
- In Russia, it was abolished in 1991 but replaced in 2008 with the Order of Parental Glory. In 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin revived the title of Mother Heroine and introduced a payment of one million rubles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- In Tajikistan, it was withdrawn in 1996 to discourage large families.
- In Ukraine, it was cancelled upon independence but restored in 2001.<ref>Gender, Politics and Society in Ukraine, University of Toronto Press, 2012, Template:ISBN</ref>
- In Kazakhstan, mothers of 10 or more children have since 1995 been awarded the Altyn Alka (Алтын алка, "Golden pendant") and mothers of eight or nine children have received the Kumis Alka (Кумiс алка, "Silver pendant").
See also
- List of awards honoring women
- Orders, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union
- Order of Maternal Glory
- Order of Parental Glory Russian Federation
- Mother Heroine (Russia)
- Mother Heroine (Albania)
- Order of Mother, Belarus
- Vietnamese Heroic Mother
- Cross of Honour of the German Mother
- Médaille de l'enfance et des familles
- Altyn Alka
- Kumis Alka
- Family in the Soviet Union
References
- Орден "Мать-героиня" at Ordena i Medali SSSR
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Natalist awards
- Honorary titles of the Soviet Union
- Civil awards and decorations of the Soviet Union
- Orders, decorations, and medals for women
- Awards established in 1944
- Awards disestablished in 1991
- 1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union
- Demographics of the Soviet Union
- Hero (title)