Single mother

USSR

In the USSR, caring for children and mothers and strengthening the family has always been one of the most important tasks of the Soviet state. In 1926, the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR of November 19, 1926 “On the Enactment of the Code of Laws on Marriage, Family and Guardianship” introduced the family code, which simplified the procedure for establishing paternity for single mothers as much as possible: it was enough to submit an application stating that such and such is dad during pregnancy and after the birth of the baby, the man was notified and he could appeal this decision for a year in court. ^[one]

In 1944, the status of a single mother was strengthened and expanded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1944 “On increasing state aid to pregnant women, mothers with many children and single mothers, efforts to protect motherhood and childhood, on establishing the honorary title“ Mother Heroine ” and the establishment of the Order of "Maternal Glory" and "Medals of Maternity ". ^[2]

In 1970, the status of a single mother was further enshrined in paragraph 8 of Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 12.08.1970 N 659 "On approval of the regulation on the procedure for the appointment and payment of benefits to pregnant women, large families and single mothers". ^[3]

Russian Federation

In the Russian Federation - the Family Code and the Federal Law “On State Benefits for Citizens with Children”, as well as the Federal Law “On Acts of Civil Status” - do not legislatively contain direct references, meanings and definitions of “single mother”, and therefore it is exclusively colloquial designation . ^{[4] [5] [6]} .

In paragraph 28 of the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 1 dated January 28, 2014 “On the application of legislation governing the work of women, persons with family responsibilities and minors”, there is a definition of “single mother”, which applies to the field of labor law, but it does not extends to the possibility of obtaining social benefits. ^[7]