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Putin emphasizes need to simplify process of obtaining Russian citizenship

According to Putin, encouraging compatriots to return to Russia is important for overcoming demographic problems rooted in the 1990s

MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. There is a need to simplify the process of obtaining Russian citizenship, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual televised question and answer session dubbed The Direct Line.

"I strongly believe that we need to simplify matters related to the process of obtaining Russian citizenship," he said in response to a question by Donbass refugees. "This issue has humanitarian and economic aspects given the difficult demographic situation in Russia," he added.

The president noted that the number of women of childbearing age in Russia would decrease by 25% by 2032. "It will hinder the country’s economic development," he said, adding that "it is happening not because we have some economic or social problems, the reason is that the birth rate plunged in the 1990s, so the number of women of childbearing age is now decreasing. We cannot do anything about that," the president said.

According to Putin, encouraging compatriots to return to Russia is important for overcoming demographic problems rooted in the 1990s. "It means, first and foremost, those who believe they have a link to the Russian world, who speak Russian, wish to work in our country and are capable of doing that - regardless of their ethnic and religious background," he said, adding that "serious decisive measures" must be taken in that area "but there is also a need to take into account the interests of Russian citizens across the country and the labor market situation."

In this connection, Putin repeated instructions for Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev to launch the relevant processes, since migration issues had been handed over to the Interior Ministry.