Putin urges population growth

MOSCOW, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is calling for more schools and financial incentives for larger families in an effort to boost the country's population.

Putin, who is running for president, published his proposal to increase Russia's population from 143 million to 154 million in an article titled "Building Fairness: Social Politics for Russia," RIA Novosti reported Sunday.

Putin said more state kindergartens need to be created to educate a potentially growing population because many such buildings were sold to private owners after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The former president called for financial support for parents living in areas with declining populations and proposed increasing student scholarships, as well as reducing the cost of real estate by as much as 30 percent.

All this, he said, would help boost the country's population to 154 million by 2050, otherwise it could decline to 107 million in the same span of time.