In Russia, there is serious concern about the declining birth rate that comes at a time when the war in Ukraine continues and the economic crisis in the country continues to deepen.
The alarm has reached the office of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who, addressing the World Russian People's Council held in Moscow, emphasized in his speech that the country must return to the era when large families were the norm.
Turning his eyes to women, the head of the Kremlin has asked them to have eight or more children.
" Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had seven, eight or even more children. Let us preserve and revive these fine traditions. Large families should become the norm, a way of life for the Russian people. The family is not only the cornerstone of the state and society, it is a spiritual phenomenon, a source of morality. Preservation and growth of Russia's population is our goal for the next decades, even for the next generations. This is the future of the Russian state, eternal Russia , "said the Russian president.
Putin's remarks come at a time when the war in Ukraine is estimated to have claimed the lives of around 290,000 soldiers on the front line, according to a report from Britain.
Since taking power in Russia - 24 years ago - Putin has tried to boost the country's birth rate by enacting a series of incentives for those who have children. However, these measures have had little or no effect, with figures from Rosstat, Russia's federal statistics agency, estimating the country's population to be no more than 146,447,424 people. (A2 Televizion)
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