The State Duma has proposed introducing a shorter workday for young fathers.
Vice Speaker of the State Duma Boris Chernyshov believes that fathers of children under three years old should work no more than six hours on Thursdays - the least busy day of the five-day week.
"This initiative will provide a real opportunity to fully participate in caring for a child, whether through clinic visits, developmental activities, or simply playing and walking together," the letter to the Ministry of Labor notes.
The idea was not appreciated by the First Deputy Chairperson of the Public Council under the Ministry of Labor Elena Topoleva-SoldunovaShe believes that such a shortened Thursday could lead to discrimination at work.
Social media users also didn't appreciate it:
"Visiting the clinic on Thursday evening," "Yeah, so they'll get even faster at watching TV or using the computer," "Maybe they'll be freed from work altogether to care for the kids," "If you're not involved in raising them, you can make the whole week a non-working week. And if you love your kids, you can spend it on Thursdays."
Previously the leader of the LDPR Leonid SlutskyHe announced that his party would “defend the initiative to introduce paternal capital,” similar to maternal capital. “If you become a father for the third time, you are entitled to a million rubles, — Slutsky explained. “Men and fathers desperately need support now.”
While authorities in Russia's regions are trying to motivate women to become mothers from a very early age—for example, with 100-ruble payments and increased benefits—they are having problems getting young fathers involved in raising their children.
In Russia, the problem of fatherhood is compounded by the familiar picture of a traditional family: the mother and grandmother take care of the child, while the father, for some reason, is often absent, as if he had gone out to buy bread and never returned.