Russian President Vladimir Putin dedicated the bulk of his address to the United Russia party to domestic matters, beginning with a lengthy discussion of so-called “bread and butter issues": pensions, unemployment, housing, education, healthcare, etc. He then circled back to the central issue of demographics, which he has been insistent on for a couple of years at least:
“I often hear people say that we need a national idea, an image of the future, everybody speaks about that. You know, friends, I avoid high words, but I think that a solid good family with two, three, four or more children should become the future of Russia. There is nothing to invent here.
