Putin says low incomes are "a direct threat" to national population growth. Says incomes are low even in cases where both members of a couple work. Says subsidies for a second child have been expanded and now many regions are giving additional subsidies for a third child.
Putin now discussing the problem of nursery schools, saying that many of the ones that have been created in recent years have not yet been accredited and are not functioning.
Putin says that every government decision, new law, new initiative must be taken while considering the highest national priority -- increasing natural population growth.
"We have entered a complex, very complex, demographic phase," he said. Notes that earlier policies had led to an increase in birth rates, but now the "small generation" of the 1990s has entered reproductive age and birth rates are in decline.
Putin emphasizes that people are expecting improvements in their lives -- "results they can feel" and "an improvement in living standards." Turns his attention to demographics.
Putin opens by noting that this is the earliest in the year that he has ever given the state-of-the-nation address, saying there can be no delay in dealing with the issues confronting the government.
President Vladimir Putin has entered the hall to a standing ovation, about five minutes late.
For the first time, Putin's state-of-the-nation address will be projected onto the facades of buildings throughout central Moscow.
Six of Moscow's largest advertising screens will show the broadcast, RBK reported, including the Cosmos hotel, the Central Telegraph building, the October cinema, and the Russian capital’s largest bookshop.
The speech is routinely shown on the TV screens of state institutions across Russia, but this initiative is an expansion on the theme.