Monday, September 10, 2007

Russia braces for baby boom

Never mind the van! If Russia's rockin', don't bother knockin'!

In the Russian province of Ulyanovsk, this coming (ha) Wednesday is "Conception Day", a government-sanctioned day off work for the express purpose of gettin' down and doing the horizontal bop:

"A Russian province is readying for "Family Contact" day -- unofficially being called "Conception Day" -- in an effort to boost flagging birth rates, officials said on Monday.
The special day for encouraging procreation was dreamt up by the governor of Ulyanovsk province, Sergei Morozov, who this year awarded prizes ranging from a television to a Russian-made all-terrain vehicle for giving birth on Russia's Constitution Day on June 12.

President Vladimir Putin has made fixing Russia's ongoing population slump a national priority.

This Wednesday's event is timed precisely nine months ahead of next year's Constitution Day so that mothers "ideally should give birth on June 12," said a spokeswoman for the administration, speaking by telephone to AFP."

Procreate for the State! Hoho, can government-imposed pregnancy be far away? Good times, good times! And with bigbig prizes, who could resist!? At least it doesn't look like anyone who fails to conceive will be punished. (Yet!!!) Still, I think with "Conception Day" Russia has reached that reproductive heart of darkness where it might be time for their own version of "Birth Pangs", "Родовые схватки".