A Russianpolitician has sparked controversy after calling on women to "dress less modestly" to help Vladimir Putin end the country's population slump.

Evgeny Rudenko, 50, said thatwomen today dressed too “modestly” and this led to fewer marriages. The Kaluga region MP said: “In the 1970s, everyone wore miniskirts to meet boys, no one bothered girls back then. Marriages were strong, and the demographic indicators were high. I ask [women] to wear miniskirts only on sunny days, not in the cold.”

He posted a picture of a woman in a miniskirt to highlighthow he expects the opposite sex to dress. The aim was to “to increase Russia’s demographics,” said the Putin-backing ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party politician who has worked for years as a taxi driver.

“Modesty has made it less common for people to get married,” he said. “A girl in a miniskirt has a much higher chance of getting married. 100%.”

Russian politician, Evgeny Rudenko, 50, from Kaluga region, with his family (

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The Kremlin dictator - who has five known children - frequently draws attention to a stark population decline in Russia, not mentioning that this is worsened by the tens of thousands who have perished in his war against Ukraine.

Putin banned “propaganda” encouraging child-free families in one initiative. Rudenko, a married father-of-two from Tarusa town, faced backlash for his call.

One comment from a woman read: “Well, yes, now we’ll all wear miniskirts, and then we’ll increase the statistics of rapes and abortions. ‘She provoked it herself,’ you like to say later in such cases. These are new traditional values, apparently.”

Another complained: “Bro, you better develop your region, and not clown around. Why are you so hung up on girls? Do you want an increase in violence in the country? Are there no other problems in your region?”

Rudenko has a large family (

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One more said: “Your position is foolish and one-sided.” Another asked: “Evgeny, couldn’t you come up with something smarter?” But he hit back at his critics, saying: “Only gays don't like girls in miniskirts.” There was no comment from his wife of 27 years Natalya, 46.

The head of the Family Committee in the Russian parliament, Nina Ostanina, said the demand for women to wear miniskirts were the “ravings of a madman”. She called for voters to demand his resignation.

Prominent traditionalist MP Vitaly Milonov said: “Honestly, this is some kind of animalistic message, absolutely inhuman.

“I even feel a bit embarrassed for this person, to be honest, that he thinks so primitively, that for him, a woman’s appearance equates to demographic growth.

“I don’t know how things are personally going for him in terms of demographics, but one thing is certain—he probably needs to restrain his hormonal outbursts a little.”