Matvienko called the depopulation of territories a strategic threat to Russia

The problem of depopulation of territories is a strategic threat to Russia. This was stated on April 20 by Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko at the panel session "Formation of a family—centered environment in municipalities: a women's perspective on territorial development", which is being held as part of the III All-Russian Municipal Forum "Small Motherland - the Strength of Russia".

"Historically, Russia is not a country of agglomerations and megacities. The depopulation of territories is a strategic threat to us, and we cannot allow this, either from the point of view of national security or from the point of view of economic development," she said.

Matvienko noted that it is necessary to achieve uniform settlement of territories. In her opinion, people should not live in apartments in several large cities far from their native places, but should build spacious houses and start a large family. She stressed that this is how she sees the image of the future.

We need our own hero: how to stop the extinction of small towns

The VTsIOM report confirmed a serious outflow of population from small settlements throughout Russia

On April 15, the press service of the United Russia party reported that 80,000 doctors and paramedics had moved to work in villages. According to Alexander Rumyantsev, MD, 70 doctors and 20 middle-level workers in Crimea were sent to 19 medical organizations. In addition, the number of graduates of the region's medical university has increased fivefold in the Ivanovo Region since 2017.