Vladimir Putin pledges to spend £32bn on increasing Russian life expectancy

Prime minister appears to make a play for return to presidency as he also promises to boost flagging birthrate by 30%
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The prime minister made the pledge in a bold address to parliament on Wednesday in which he appeared to make a play for his return to the presidency.

During his two-and-a-half-hour annual speech to the state duma, Putin boasted of the country's economic recovery and promised rapid military expansion while announcing many populist measures aimed at elderly and provincial voters.

Russia will hold parliamentary elections in December and a presidential poll next spring, so the address was watched closely for signs that Putin wants to recover the job he held from 2000 to 2008.

Analysts noticed the prime minister made little mention of President Dmitry Medvedev, the close political ally whom Putin endorsed as his successor, but who has recently hinted he may not be keen to give way to his mentor.

www.guardian.co.uk...

I think this could easily be accomplished in Russia by simply raising the standard of living, Imagine what could be done world wide if all monies used for war were to be used for similar purposes. food for thought...

reply to post by 5StarOracle


Hmmm. It's all in how you crunch the numbers - he'll probably bring in some Western statisticians.

Russia's population has fallen by 2.2 million to just under 143 million as a result of low fertility and a high mortality rate among men.

It was unclear exactly what "projects" Putin had in mind to stimulate the birthrate but Russia makes cash payments to mothers when their children are born and other more imaginative measures have been used.

In September 2007, the city of Ulyanovsk organised a day of conception, when workers were encouraged to go home and have sex.

Prizes including a 4x4 car were given to those who gave birth on 12 June, Russia Day, the following year.

Putin indicated that fertility was already on the rise. "The main thing is to keep up the tempo," he said. Modernisation of healthcare would lead to greater longevity, he added.