Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits the "seven billionth" baby and his mother in the hospital where the baby was born. (Photo: Alexey Nikolsky)

 By Mengfei Chen, Patterson Press staff writer

On October 31, the world welcomed a newborn baby which brought the population of the world to seven billion. So, where was the lucky baby born? The answer is Russia.

According to reports, the seven billionth baby was born in a maternity hospital in the Russian town of Kaliningrad at 12:02 AM on October 31. The baby, a boy, weighed 6.7 lbs and measured 19 1/2 inches.  He was given the name Pyotr Nikolayev. The president of the hospital said they gave the baby’s mother flowers and a secret gift, and even Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin came to congratulate them. A representative of the European Union also came. Although most reports confirm that Russia was indeed the birthplace of the seven billionth baby, other countries, including the Philippines, have also made the same claim.

According to European Union data, 250 babies are born every minute, but at the same time 120 people die. So they can only figure out the population of the world by the rate of growing people. In fact, whether the seven billionth baby was born in Russia, the Phillipines or another country, it does not make a lot of difference. It is more like a symbol, annoucing that the human race has already reached a population of seven billion people in this new century!