Vladimir Putin, speaking at his annual televised question-and-answer session, said: "Primarily it will be border regions - the Primorye Territory and the Khabarovsk Territory, and some central regions, which lack a workforce."
Speaking at the Second World Congress of Russians Abroad Tuesday, Putin said the government will allocate 4.6 billion rubles ($171.13 million) in 2007 on a voluntary repatriation program for Russians living abroad.
"They [compatriots] will be assisted with their travel arrangements and primary accommodation, including the registration of their legal and social status, as well as with jobs, municipal and pension services, preschool, school and professional education," Putin said.
In his State of the Nation address in May, Putin called the decline in Russia's population - which he said was falling by 700,000 a year - the country's biggest problem. He said a sensible immigration policy can help solve the problem.
The Soviet Union experienced several major waves of immigration, the most recent taking place in the 1990s before and after the union's dissolution, an event that triggered widespread economic and social hardships. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, millions of Russians likewise remained in former Soviet republics.
