Putin urges Russians to have more kids, says ethnic survival at stake

Putin told employees at a tank factory in the Urals region that two children per family was the minimum number if the peoples of Russia were to preserve their identities.

"If we want to survive as an ethnic group - well, or as ethnic groups inhabiting Russia - there must be at least two children," he said.

If each family had just one child, the population would shrink, he said. "And in order to expand and develop, you need at least three children."

Putin declares himself a supporter of "traditional values" based on family, nation and the Orthodox Christian faith.

Russia has suffered two decades of gradual population decline.

The state statistics bureau estimated the population at 146.4 million at the start of 2023, down from nearly 149 million 20 years earlier but up from a low of about 143 million between 2007 and 2012.