Support and care: how municipality backs families

July 8 th is known as the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity. Indeed, a strong family is based on mutual understanding, trust and care for each other. For its part, the municipality also provides support to families as it has created an extensive infrastructure and continuously improves targeted support to help everyone who really needs it.

Wedding in a mansion or in the metro

The first step in family life can be taken beautifully and without extra costs. The New Addresses of Happiness project offers the opportunity to get married in the most unusual places in Moscow. Wedding ceremonies run on observation decks, in Moscow City skyscrapers, ancient mansions and estates in the downtown or at picturesque reserves, a Vorobyovy Gory cable car, or during a river tour and at a transport facility, such as the restored Northern River Station or the Mayakovskaya metro station. So, about 53,000 couples have got married amid amazing scenery in five years. To select a wedding venue, you can use the Our Wedding service.

Caring for expectant mothers

Today, Moscow has eleven maternity hospitals and six perinatal centers, including ultra-modern obstetric care facilities at Vorokhobov City Clinical Hospital (CCH) No. 67 and in Kommunarka Multi-Purpose Clinical Center, which were launched in 2022 to provide the full range of medical services to expectant mothers and newborns with the use of world-class obstetrics and gynecology methods. In 2023, patients were first admitted to the newly-built neonatal building at Savelyeva CCH No. 31 boasting cutting-edge equipment used to care for premature babies, even those with extremely low body weight. The latter got Moscow’s first-ever women’s health center for expectant mothers to prepare for pregnancy and be observed by excellent doctors. The women’s health network is key of the novel obstetric & gynecological care standard to take care of women at a qualitatively new level.

Now more than 2.3 million young citizens are growing up in Moscow families, and over 200,000 families are raising three or more children. The number of large families has almost tripled over the past decade.

Gifts for newborns and family allowances

The municipality offers a vast array of arrangements to support families. For one instance, a newborn baby and parents are awarded an Our Treasure box. Moscow families have received more than 700,000 of such free sets with essential infant stuff plus monetary compensation.

Critical aid also includes benefits and payments to large and foster families or to parents raising children with disabilities. Getting help is simple and convenient as with the latest technology, applications for benefits, payments, allowances and social services can be submitted right at home.

Family centers and teen clubs

Moscow has family centers employing experts in various fields who help parents better understand their kids and support in tackling hard relation issues. If there is an emerging conflict, a therapist or mediator will hint at possible ways out of the crisis.

The centers also house parent clubs for adults to get help to establish contact and become friends with their children. Young Muscovites can benefit from teen clubs to develop themselves and find new friends.

Backing families with children with special needs

Meanwhile, families raising children with disabilities are welcome at rehab and rehabilitation & educational centers where specialists pay regard to characteristics and needs of every child and where children are taught classes while they are taking a rehab program.

There are actually five one-stop-shop family-oriented centers for children with multiple health disorders. Each child is provided with a custom-tailored schedule of correction classes and rehabilitation activities delivered by speech therapists, defectologists, additional education teachers, therapeutic recreation and adaptive sports coaches and so forth.

The early help service is available to families who have kids with special needs under three years of age to improve the child’s health indicators to be as close to normal as possible. The project also helps parents adapt their lifestyle to the baby’s needs and maintain family relationships. Each family gets a dedicated manager who will build a custom-tailed development program for their child.

Support for SMO participants and their families

Moscow has also a one-stop-shop support center for participants in the special military operation (SMO) and family members to receive legal advice, help in finding a job, medical support or adaptation after combat injuries, rehabilitation through sports and exercise, or psychological and psychotherapeutic care options. It is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:00 a. m. until 9:00 p. m. As for children of SMO participants, this year they are invited to a summer leisure center with a variety of programs for relaxation and gaining new knowledge.

The support center offers personalized programs for each family, so that people can access all services in a centralized location, conveniently and comfortably. For example, while a mother is applying for municipal services, her child is getting engaged in the playroom. If a dad is doing rehabilitation training, a mom and children can attend a master class, watch a performance or cook a dish in a state-of-the-art kitchen.

Career for everyone

Indeed, Moscow is a city of career opportunities for all family members. It has, among other things, an innovative Professions of the Future HR center for adults to choose a training program out from 75 in-demand majors, meet some big Moscow employers and learn all about job offers in today’s labor market. Meanwhile, kids can enjoy a children’s workshop with a play city, older children getting comprehensive career guidance in order to make an informed choice about their future education and occupation. Both adults and children have fun immersing themselves in the world of professions wearing VR glasses, finding out which areas of activity they may be good at with the use of a special neurotracker or trying on a suitable specialty using a neural network.

Women who want to combine child care and professional self-development may take advantage of the Mom Works program at the dedicated My Career employment center. The classes and training sessions help women explore market trends and in-demand professions, develop skills and find jobs so that they can combine motherhood and career. Those who wish can gain practical skills to start their own business. On top of that, the My Job and My Career centers offer mentor-supported start-up programs.

Master classes, picnics and meetings with celebrities

The municipality does a lot to arrange for recreation to parents and children. 40,000 people spent time at the Mixed Shift heavily family-oriented fest, which took place on July 6–7 at the Pioneers Palace on Vorobyovy Gory, with dozens of master classes, picnics and lectures given by prominent psychologists.

In the workshop tents, attendees were taught how to make polymer clay slimes and jewelry, mini-mats and even own puppet theaters; in the family lecture hall they learned useful tips from experts in education, environmental science and healthy lifestyle. They also met with the Hero of Russia, pilot-cosmonaut Sergei Korsakov, who launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 18, 2022, as a flight engineer with the Soyuz MS-21 crew. Meanwhile, sports fans played badminton, frisbee, Cossacks-Robbers, hopscotch, gorodki, etc. Those wishing to relax listened to live music shows. A flash mob kite fly was certainly the most exciting event.

Active life for the older generation

Senior Muscovites enjoy the Moscow Longevity project expanding their social circle and also strengthening family ties. There are lots of married couples among the participants. Yet, the project opens doors for new relationships, too, as it helped create more than 30 families. In addition, participants note that an active social life, new hobbies and interests help them find common language with their grandchildren and be on the same page with younger people.

Strong families that serve as examples of love and loyalty are of great value, indeed. Last year, over 23,400 couples who had lived together for 50, 55, 60, 65, 70 and 75 years celebrated their personal anniversaries. In fact, Muscovites are granted incentive gift payments from the Moscow Government; for example, in 2024, more than 7,300 celebrant couples have received RUB 26,513 to RUB 39,767.

Reliving happy memories

Every year on the eve of July 8, the municipality honors those who have been married for 25 years or more. This year, about 300 Moscow families will receive the For Love and Fidelity acknowledgement reward, local registry offices contributing to the event. Spouses can relive their past emotions by repeating the wedding ceremony in any Wedding Palace in Moscow. In 2023, about 300 couples celebrated their anniversary in this way, the official ceremonies being tailor-made and free of charge.

On the day of the celebration, spouses enter the hall accompanied by Mendelssohn’s march, the presenter recalls the exciting moments of their joint history and talks about the secrets of a happy union. After that the couple will sign the honorary book of celebrations, exchange rings and are invited to dance a wedding dance. In 2024, which is announced the Year of the Family, anniversary ceremonies have been held for more than 100 couples, half of them having outreached the 50-year mark.

The municipality will continue to do everything to ensure that there are as many happy and strong families in the capital as possible.