Putin highlights demography, US influence as threats

Russia's biggest problem is a decline in its population by an average of almost 700,000 people a year, president Putin said in his seventh state of the nation address.

"The most acute problem facing our country today is the demographic problem", the Russian president said.

He suggested a 10-year programme to stop the sharp decline in Russia's population, including larger economic subsidies for parents and one-and-a-half years maternity leave with 40 percent of the previous wage p...