PUTIN
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (REUTERS):
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered women cash to have more babies yesterday as he tackles 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 falls 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.
