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Moscow announces aid programme for ethnic Germans in Russia

Sep 3, 2007, 14:39 GMT

Moscow - The Russian government announced Monday an 80- million-euro (109-million-dollar) programme to lure back Russians of German ethnicity, Interfax news agency reported. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov authorized the programme in Moscow which would aid the social and economic development of the ethnic German community in Russia. The aid will be offered for the building of houses and infrastructure, and for the improvement of education and health facilities. It is expected to particularly benefit regions in Western Siberia and along the Volga river. The programme is part of Russian efforts to halt the decline in the country's population. According to a UN study, Russia will need 2 million immigrants in the coming decade to maintain economic growth. According to official statistics, the number of ethnic Germans in Russia fell by 30 per cent between 1989 and 2004 to around 600,000. However, Russian media reports say that every year thousands of them return to Russia because of dissatisfaction with their new lives in Germany. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Moscow announces aid programme for ethnic Germans in Russia

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