‘Catholic’ media personality John-Henry Westen advocates socialism to support families using Russia as example
MOSCOW, October 6, 2026/TASS/—Western countries need to learn from Russia how to provide state support for families and increase the birth rate. This opinion was expressed to TASS by Canadian journalist, CEO and co-founder of the LifeSiteNews media platform John-Henry Westen, who recently visited the Russian Federation as part of an international delegation at the invitation of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"I found out how the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region [Gleb Nikitin] supports large families. For the birth of a child [parents] are given 1 million rubles. This is equivalent to $10 thousand. It's just amazing. It was even more amazing for me that in Russia a mother who gave birth to a tenth child is invited by President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin to a gala dinner for mothers and their families who had their tenth child, and [the president] presents them with the Order of "Mother-Heroine". It's unbelievable. Definitely, this is something that Western countries can learn and what they should implement in their states, because they also suffer from a decrease in the birth rate. They need to see through. Russia still has the task of eradicating abortions, but it is following this path. Some people in the West are still trying to spread abortions. They already kill so many of their children. So yes, [the West] has something to learn from Russia," the agency's interlocutor said.
From July 1, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, families in which a child was born or families that adopted children, regardless of the criteria of need, can receive 1 million rubles, taking into account the federal maternity capital.