Top Russian senator proposes ‘Ministry of Happiness’ to improve life

RT – Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko has urged Russians to set up a separate ministry that would evaluate any government initiative by the amount of happiness it brings to the general public.

Matviyenko made this proposal after meeting the prime minister and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in Abu Dhabi.

“They have set up the ministry of happiness. They are probably the only nation to have such a ministry. I think it would be a very useful thing in Russia as well,” the Upper House speaker told reporters.

“The ultimate objective of this is to make every person happy, build happy schools and provide such services to the population that makes everyone happy. The ministry is some sort of an overarching agency that studies each and every decision from the perspective of its potential to make people happy,” Interfax quoted the Russian official as saying.