This is a new development, and of the trend continues it will be a huge story. But, it’s still to early to see.
Today’s Wall Street Journal had a piece on this. They argued that the population of ethnic Russians is still declining, and the rising birth rate is only due to Moslem immigrants.
My girlfriend is a Russian citizen living in Moscow, and she told me last week that the Russian government will pay roughly $11,000 to a Russian woman who has a child. Despite that, there aren’t enough people using the program so they are considering doing away with it.