Improving the demographic situation and achieving sustainable growth in birth rates is a matter of life and death for Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with national media published on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin has designated 2024 the 'Year of the Family' in Russia, and according to his spokesman, the issue is of critical importance for the country.

"Demographics is probably our Achilles heel, our biggest problem. It cannot be resolved overnight. And so we desperately need to continue to take all possible measures that are aimed at correcting the demographic situation," Peskov told the Argumenti i Fakty newspaper.

He added that Russia will continue to focus on improving the quality of family life by extending the maternity capital program and offering more financial benefits to single mothers and families with multiple children.

"At the same time, it is possible and necessary to promote large families," said Peskov, himself a father of six. "Having many children should become fashionable. That's why traditional values are so important to us... it is a matter of life and death for our country with its vast territory."

"There should be more of us! We have only 7 million people living beyond the Urals. We must have children, we must increase human mobility and live our lives in different cities, which should be equally comfortable," he added.

In his address to the Federal Assembly last month, President Putin admitted that Russia, like many other countries, is faced with a decline in birth rates. He suggested that all levels of government, civil society, and religion should work together to make large families the social norm, a cornerstone of social life, and a guideline of state strategy.

Putin has raised the issue of family sizes before, pointing to the lingering consequences of the 1990s demographic collapse, comparable in severity to that of the Second World War. While the number of abortions in Russia has declined significantly since 2000, the number of births in 2023 was just over 1.2 million, the lowest since 1999. The national statistics bureau, Rosstat, has predicted a continued decline in the birth rate through 2027.

The president has once again urged citizens to have more children

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Russians to start families early and have at least two children, preferably more.

His comments came during a meeting with the workers of Uralvagonzavod, a major Russian weapons and military equipment manufacturer located in Nizhny Tagil, in the Urals.

"Supporting young families is our absolute priority if we want to preserve our ethnic groups inhabiting Russia. And for this, each family must have at least two children. Three, if we want to grow and expand," Putin said, answering a question on whether the state Young Family program will continue.

The president added that funding for the program has been secured through 2025. Further measures to support families are in the works and may be announced during his upcoming annual address to lawmakers.

Putin has designated 2024 'Year of the Family' in Russia. The president has repeatedly pointed to the lingering consequences of the 1990s demographic collapse, comparable in severity to that of the Second World War.

He has raised the family-size issue before. Speaking in Kaliningrad last month, he explained that having children early on was the way to go. Couples who wait until 30 or later end up having no time or energy for more than one child, he said at the time, which is why the government has focused on helping young families. While the number of abortions in Russia has declined significantly since 2000, the number of births in 2023 was only 1.213 million, the lowest since 1999. The national statistics bureau, Rosstat, has predicted a continued decline in the birth rate through 2027.

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On Friday, Berliner was suspended for five days without pay, NPR confirmed Tuesday, a week after his essay in the Free Press, an online news publication, where he argued the network had "lost America's trust" and allowed a "liberal bent" to influence its coverage, causing the outlet to steadily lose credibility with audiences.

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