Putin's joke about birthrate in Chechnya and Dagestan raptures Kadyrov

In Chechnya and Dagestan, the birthrate is "three times higher than in Japan," said Russian President, Vladimir Putin, urging young people to "spend energy on creation." Ramzan Kadyrov expressed his confidence that this joke will get into a collection of aphorisms.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan are among the top twenty in the list of Russian regions in terms of population; Ingushetia and Chechnya took the second and third places.

"Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, said that they began walking faster in Japan. That's good. And, say, here in Chechnya and Dagestan, we are walking at the same pace, but the birthrate is three times higher than in Japan. The question in what to spend one's energy on," Mr Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

In his Telegram channel, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, expressed his admiration at Vladimir Putin's joke, explaining that it was a comment to Mr Abe's words that in Japan, 75-year-old people are walking at the same pace as 65-year-old ones used to walk.

"Political humour! This is a whole science. Moreover, it's very subtle and complex. Only an extremely wise and confident leader can allow joking during meetings with high-ranking statesmen," Kadyrov wrote.

He has also stressed that humour in politics "sometimes achieves better results than lengthy discussions. And, most importantly, humour should be kind, sharp and original. Russian President Vladimir Putin possesses such a high art of political humour," Kadyrov has stated.