Russia should aim to double its population within the next 50 years, the leader of the LDPR party, Leonid Slutsky, told the State Duma on Tuesday.
“We understand the difficult situation today,” the lawmaker said regarding planned cuts to social protection expenses in the state budget for next year. Despite changes in the budget, Slutsky insisted that “we must, at the call of the president, double the population of Russia in the next 50 years. That is, by 2073… there should be at least 290 million people.”
He claimed that the government must ensure that even with less funding for social items in the budget, programs and expenses related to addressing demographic issues must not be reduced.
Slutsky further argued it is necessary to populate lands across Russia and create conditions so that young people do not leave their villages. According to the lawmaker, it is essential to create agricultural holdings and work on mortgage rates, instead of relying on migrants to solve the demographic issue.
“Let’s ask ourselves what will happen to the Russian world, to Russian civilization. We don’t need such a scenario,” Slutsky said.
The LDPR leader also stressed the need to combat poverty more actively, stating that families with children are the largest group among the poor. He proposed that the current remuneration system should be reviewed and adapted to allow a balance between professional development and family responsibilities.
“People should not wait for benefits and should understand that when children are born, their ability to earn money will not disappear,” he said, noting that most women today have their first child only at the age of 30.
“This is a bad practice. We must urgently introduce measures that will allow women not to fall out of professional development,” Slutsky insisted, adding that if the population is to grow, women must have the opportunity to combine higher education with motherhood.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged in August that the demographic situation in the country remained “difficult.” He pointed out that fewer children were being born than the year before, and ordered the introduction of federal programs across the country that would aim to stimulate birth rates. With this in mind, projects have already been launched in the regions of Novgorod, Penza, and Tambov.