Putin tells Russians he is softening unpopular pension reform

President Vladimir Putin told Russians on Wednesday he had decided to dilute unpopular draft legislation to reform the pension system which has hurt his popularity, but said serious demographic challenges meant some kind of reform was necessary.

Addressing the nation on television, Putin said the retirement age for women should be raised by five years rather than the eight years proposed by the government, and made detailed proposals to soften other aspects of the legislation.

The government's proposals have pushed Putin's own popularity down to its lowest level in more than four years.