It certainly is a novel way to tackle declining birth rates. The governor of a central Russian province has urged couples to ditch work and stay home to have sex instead. Regional governor Sergei Morozov has also promised that if anyone gives birth in exactly nine months time - on Russia`s national day on June 12 - she will qualify for a prize. The prize would be "something for the home - a fridge or a television set," spokeswoman for the Ulyanovsk regional administration press office, Yelena Yakovleva, said. "It doesn`t matter if [the baby] is a girl or a boy." Mr Morozov ordered employers to contribute to a Kremlin campaign to boost the birth rate by giving couples the day off to have sex. The campaign`s aim is to boost Russia`s population, which is shrinking by about 700,000 people a year as the number of births fails to outpace a high death rate caused by AIDS, alcoholism and suicide. This is the third year the region, most famous for being birthplace of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin, has dedicated a day to encouraging its citizens to have more children. The incentive isn`t just for couples . Prizes will also extend to unwed women who produce children on the right day, although the biggest will be reserved for those who are married. On this year`s Russia Day, a family won a jeep after their fourth child was born on the holiday. This year a record 78 babies were born on June 12 at the main hospital in the regional capital of Ulyanovsk, beating the 2006 total of 26, said chief doctor Andrei Malykh. "The scheme is working. People want the prizes," he said. A mass wedding and special lessons for children at school on how to deal with having a brother or sister are also planned in Ulyanovsk city, which is about 900 km (560 miles) from Moscow. This week First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, said he wanted to stabilise the population at about 142 million by 2015 and boost it back to 145 million by 2025.