TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ALISSA DE CARBON

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ALISSA DE CARBONNEL (FILES) A file photo taken on May 24, 2006 shows pregnant women taking part in a lesson at the Maternity Hospital in Saint Petersburg. In the face of financial trouble, it's a bad time for having babies. And babies are what Russia badly wants. Only in January 2009, President Dmitry Medvedev touted the success of the government's drive to boost the population, saying births were up over 8 percent in 2007 and 6 percent in 2008 -- the highest birth rates in 25 years. But the demographic outlook is bleak. According to a recent UN report entitled "Russia Facing Demographic Challenges," the country's population has shrunk by 12 million people in the last 16 years. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER TARAN (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER TARAN/AFP via Getty Images)