It's not every day your local authority gives away some free cars, let alone the much-lambasted SUVs. But that is exactly what is happening in the Russian province of Ulyanovsk on the Volga River, the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin.
While most governments are contemplating ways of convincing motorists to trade in their SUVs for small city cars, authorities 900km east of Moscow are using them to lure couples into filling a gap in the population.
Ulyanovsk governor, Sergei Morozov, while promising prizes including televisions, fridges and cars, urged couples to stay at home last Wednesday, and to lie back and think of Mother Russia. And, of course, a new car.
He decreed, back in 2005, that September 12th was "Family Contact Day", when employers are asked to give staff the day off work so they could get going on solving the dipping population.
"People can spend more time with their families, communicate, go to the cinema and direct their energies along the needed course, not least for the prosperity of Ulyanovsk," Morozov said. And no better way to reward such a selfless act for one's country than with an UAZ Patriot - a locally-made SUV.
The Patriot is a bland four-wheel drive, with a maximum speed of 150km/h, but it has plenty of room with five standard seats and an option for four more "jump seats" in the back. It uses a Korean-made transmission and has a local price tag of under €11,000.
This year's winners, Irina and Andrei Kartuzov, took delivery of their new baby - and off-roader - on June 12th and similar prizes are in store for successful applicants next June. The winners of the top prize are chosen by a committee that judges couples on criteria such as "respectability" and "commendable parenting".
The idea has certainly gained traction. Since it began in 2005, the region's birth rate has increased by 4.5 per cent. This year, 78 babies were born to patriots in search of prizes and, last year, 46 more babies than is normal were born close to June 12th.
Russia is one of the most sparsely populated areas on the planet, with a population of 141 million that is set to fall to below 100 million by 2050 if current trends continue.
