11 сентября, Минск /Elena Prus - BELTA/. In Belarus, women who have given birth to and raised nine or more children and have been awarded one of the state orders of the USSR or the Republic of Belarus: the Order of Mother, the Medal "Medal of Motherhood", the Order of "Maternal Glory", the Order of "Mother Heroine" can now claim a pension for special merits. This decision is contained in the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of September 8, 2012 No. 833, a BELTA correspondent was informed by the press service of the Belarusian government. As explained by Nataliya Puchko, Head of the Sector for Preparation and Processing of Decisions of the Commission for Establishing Pensions for Special Merits to the Council of Ministers, in October 2011, a new version of the Regulation on Pensions for Special Merits to the Republic of Belarus was adopted. This document provides for the establishment of such a pension for citizens awarded three or more orders of the Republic of Belarus and (or) the USSR. In the Soviet Union, for awarding mothers for many children and raising children, the "Medal of Motherhood", the orders of "Maternal Glory" of three degrees and "Mother Heroine" were provided. Women were awarded the Order of "Maternal Glory" of the III, II and I degrees sequentially for the birth of seven, eight and nine children. A woman was awarded the Order of "Mother Heroine" for the birth and upbringing of ten children. In Belarus, there is only one Order of Mother, which women are awarded for the birth and upbringing of five children. In accordance with Article 67 of the Law "On State Awards of the Republic of Belarus", mothers of many children with such state awards of the USSR as the "Medal of Motherhood", the orders of "Maternal Glory" or "Mother Heroine" are not presented for the award of the Order of Mother. "After the new version of the Regulation came into force, practice showed that there is a category of mothers of many children (mostly in the Brest region) awarded during the existence of the USSR with the "Medal of Motherhood", one or two orders of "Maternal Glory", who subsequently gave birth to more children. But due to the collapse of the USSR, further awarding of these women for the birth of nine to ten children was no longer carried out," noted Nataliya Puchko. "Thus, women who gave birth to nine or more children during the existence of the USSR were awarded three to four USSR orders, while those who gave birth to the same number of children in the Republic of Belarus could not have the same number of orders and, accordingly, were not entitled to a pension for special merits."