Putin offers Russian mothers cash for more babies: population falls about 700,000 each year

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered women cash to have more babies on Wednesday as he tackled a decline in population that is leaving swathes of the country deserted and threatening to strangle economic growth.
In his annual address to the nation, Putin said each year Russia's population fell by about 700,000 - or about the same as the population of San Francisco. He proposed new financial incentives to nudge up the birth rate.
His measures had echoes of the Soviet Union, when the Kremlin saw increasing the population as a key front in the Cold War. Women with large families had the title "Hero Mother" and were given medals and expensive gifts.
"Let's talk about the most acute problem facing Russia - demography," Putin said. "Broadly speaking we are talking about the preservation of our people."
"We must resurrect our time-honoured traditions of treating the family, home and hearth, with special care," he said. But some young families said having even one child is a financial struggle and more fundamental changes are needed before they would risk rearing a second or third child.
Putin proposed more than doubling monthly payouts to families for their first baby to 1,500 roubles ($55) - over half the average wage. Many Russian parents choose to stop at only one child. But if they have a second then that child, under Putin's proposals, will merit 3,000 roubles a month.
And he said the state should pay women who give up work to have a child not less than 40 percent of what they used to earn.
Since the Soviet collapse, Russia's population has nose-dived. Demographers blame low life expectancy as well as the low birth rate.
A World Bank report in December said as the pool of workers shrinks, Russia's strong economic growth could be threatened. Villages and towns are falling empty in many parts of the vast country as the residents die out and are not replaced. According to official data, Russia's population has dropped from 145 million in 2003 to 143 million. Officials say if the trend goes unchecked the population could be down to 100 million by the middle of the century.
Putin also proposed better healthcare and diet to help Russians live longer. The average Russian lives for 66 years, some 12 years less than the average German. Factors like poor diet and heavy drinking shorten the lifespan of the average Russian man to 58 years.