Posted on 04/19/2009 7:17:10 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Depopulation Threatens Russia 10 Ways, Moscow Demographer Says
17 April 2009
By Paul Goble / Special to The Moscow Times
Russia’s population will continue to decline over the coming decades, threatening first some regions and then the country as a whole with depopulation, a trend whose consequences are both more immediate and more widespread than many now assume, according to a leading Moscow demographer.
In an article titled “The Social Consequences of the Depopulation of Russia,” Olga Lebed of Moscow State University argues that “the demographic situation that has arisen in Russia over the course of recent decades has achieved such a critical point that it is impossible not to pay attention to it."
At present, even with immigration, the population of the Russian Federation is declining by almost a million people a year, she writes, and consequently it is time to pay close attention not just to the overall figure but to the specific consequences of the depopulation of the country. Lebed points to what she says are the ten most important consequences of this trend.
First, along with the overall decline, differences in birthrates and survival rates among the indigenous ethnic groups of the country and among immigrant populations mean that depopulation will be accompanied by “a change in the nationality composition of Russia,” with the titular nationality forming an ever smaller share.
Second, depopulation will threaten the foundations of the preservation of the titular nationality's “self-consciousness” and entail “the loss of national traditions,” especially if, as seems likely, the majority nationality by the middle of this century will be a nation other than the Russians.
Third, she writes, depopulation will threaten the ability of the country to maintain its territorial integrity and the well-being of the population. Russia is already one of the least densely populated countries on earth, and it will soon lack the numbers of people needed to hold its current borders if they are challenged within or without.
Fourth, the country will face an increasing shortage of workers, a trend that will make it ever more difficult for the population to maintain its standard of living and force the government to withdraw support from the kinds of projects that could reverse this and other dangerous demographic developments.
Fifth, assuming that depopulation is combined with an aging population, the drop will mean that every remaining worker will have to carry a greater burden in order to support the non-working segment of the population. Besides sparking inter-generational tensions, this will depress the standard of living of most residents, with all the political consequences thereof.
Sixth, the depopulation of Russia is likely to be accompanied by a further exacerbation of the gender imbalance within the population. Not only will that make it more difficult for Russian firms to find men to do certain jobs, but it will mean that many women will find it difficult to find husbands. Both trends will force changes in gender roles, some welcome, others not.
Seventh, current depopulation trends increase the likelihood that ever more parents will outlive their children, something that will entail not only economic consequences but social and political ones that many believe will contribute to the atomization of society and any number of other problems as well.
Eighth, that in turn will lead, Lebed says, to “the replacement of family relations by social ones,” with the family becoming ever less important as a socializing factor and other groups and institutions rather more. While that trend is already in evidence, she argues, depopulation will make it far more severe.
Ninth, she continues, the problems of socialization brought on by depopulation will lead to more mental illness, more anti-social behavior, and the need for more institutions to cope with societal breakdown, including but not limited to crisis intervention centers, more psychologists and psychiatrists, and so on.
And tenth, she concludes, the depopulation of Russia is likely to produce a variety of demands, not now in evidence, to engage in such “fantastic” population-boosting measures as state-supported “incubator” children, “hybridization of embryos,” cloning and greater efforts to extend life spans and working lives.
Not all experts would agree with Lebed on this list, but many do — she cites numerous authorities in her 3,000-word article — and consequently, her list is useful as a way of going beyond the crude numbers concerning the current and what will in the future become an accelerating decline in the population, to the consequences of that decline for all concerned.
Oh, well, I am sure that Chinese would be more than happy to make up the difference.
-—I have seen it asserted that Chinese men and Russian women are getting together in the border regions, at least—
Not a bad thing. I think Russia would bomb us if given the chance. China is not into that.
Bottom line, we are looking at a dying civilization in Russia. Look at the alcohol consumption rate and the number of guys dying at age 45 or earlier. If you go forward to 2075...there will be several major cities in western Russia with populations of half of what they are today. We will eventually see land settlement deals where you get offered 50 acres to resettle in Russia and volunteer to take Russian citizenship...and you’ll actually see some Americans pack up and leave.
I was watching a documentary of central Russia last year...some village of 200 people. The majority of the village had never been more than twenty miles away from the village in their life. Everyone was happy and nobody had any real complaints. But then you noticed as evening came around....the vodka came out and everyone was sipping a good bit.
Alaskans would be the first to arrive, I think.
Instead of Russia reclaiming Alaska as some Russian academic said, Alaska could expand Westward.:-)
That and they still perform massive amounts of abortions. Loss of citizens.
Plus the ‘throw away kids’, Kids who's mom marries another man and he tells her to get rid of the kid and she throws him/her out at 8 years old to live on the street and sniff glue and hook. About 30,000 in Moscow alone. Loss of a great future.
They are killing themselves. Time is there enemy as well.
Don’t laugh, this is a serious suggestion...Has Russia ever considered encouraging immigration from Mexico?
No.
She is a little late with this piece. It is almost as if she had it in a drawer for 10 years and found the courage to drag it out.
.........Not only will that make it more difficult for Russian firms to find men to do certain jobs,....
As long ago as 20 years or maybe 25, the crane operators in Moscow were women because sober men were hard to find for such serious work.
Maybe for the sake of Russia, there should be global warming. It is hard to drink Vodka when it’s 90 degree outside.:-)
Just drinking the Stolichnaya that Russians won’t drink.
Can you all say “Tortilla”. It might help if Mexico had another outlet for her expanding population besides, Russia may have more economic opportunities than we do.
Russia needs to get rid of abortion, re-enforce religious views, and stress the patriotic need for large families. They will turn this around in time.
Hmmm...
Where have heard this one before?
Brave New World
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_new_world
That is tragic.
They would need to be specific and particular or they will end up with Islamofascists taking them up on that deal. That's what's happening in W. Europe.
I think we might be able to round up 12 - 30 million immigrants if it would help them.
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