Russia, The Sick Man of Europe (A nation facing demographic crisis)

The Public Interest ^ | Winter, 2005 | Nicholas Eberstadt

[Hunble]

Thank you President Clinton! You were given a golden opportunity to unite two great nations together.

You blew it!

Instead, you dispatched liberal financial idiots and promptly destroyed any chance that Russia had for a rapid recovery.

Eventually, Russia will become one of the most important financial powers on Earth, but it will take decades for them to achieve that potential.

[David Isaac]

Thank you for a very thought-provoking post

[SkyPilot]

Abortion and alcoholism are the prime factors.

But there is a deeper problem. Communism drove religion from the land with oppression and murder. Today, there are very few vestiges of Christianity left, and as a result, Russians have no moral compass.

The head of the Lenin Academy of Sciences once asked a Christian professor and thinker (Ravi Zacharias) to speak to the scientists about ethics and morality, because they were so barren of either.

[jalisco555]

According to year 2000 survival schedules, for example, a 20-year-old Russian youth had only a 46 percent chance of reaching age 65 (compared with a 79 percent chance for an American counterpart).

In an article filled with dreadful statistics this one really caught my eye. I think the percentage was higher in the Roman Empire than in the Russia of today.

[jalisco555]

Thank you for a very thought-provoking post

You're welcome. I wonder how much this problem is influencing Russia's current aggressive behavior. Perhaps they are hoping to expand their way out of this crisis.

[G.Mason]

" ... unlike the Scandinavian welfare states, Russia does not provide generous public benefits to help (single) mothers raise their young children ... "

May we have a moment of silence please.

[dasboot]

"where are the Russian women going?"

My brother-in-law is seriously courting a gal from Moscow whom he met through a neighbor. Her brother, a businessman, was recently murdered by mobsters looking to partner with him. She wants out for herself and her daughter; one kid has already married a PO from Colorado.

There are at least a hundred-thousand Ukranian and russian gals posting on websites, looking for husbands in economically free countries. They are Christian professionals (doctors, lawyers, college students)who want lots of kids and security. One site alone boasts over 50,000 nuptials arrainged since 1973!

US, AU, UK, .......that's where they're going! (and fine, fine women they are....a friend told me)

[livius]

Communism created a strangely detached and cold society, where people relied on the government rather than on their families or social network. I remember meeting Russians who came here when the USSR first began to allow emigration, and they really seemed unsure how to survive without government help; at the same time, however, they had learned ways of defrauding and getting around the bureaucracy, a survival technique they continued to use in the US. (It's one of the reasons Russian gangs are so effective in things like tax and ID fraud.) But they all complained about the US, because they had to find jobs, find housing, etc. without receiving these things automatically. This was true even though most of them were being assisted by various social service organizations.

I think that when the all-knowing, all-encompassing government collapsed, Russians didn't know how to function. Animals that are in a high stress situation will cease reproduction, and it seems to me that Russians suddenly felt themselves in a high-stress situation. Because they had been trained for generations to look to the State as the source of all good, they had no idea of how to rely on each other, build or maintain sustained marriage relationships, or even rely on their own abilities to survive (other than those who got into crime, which was the only independent activity that seemed to exist in the old USSR).

[jalisco555]

There are at least a hundred-thousand Ukranian and russian gals posting on websites, looking for husbands in economically free countries.

Interesting. I didn't know that. As the husband of an immigrant (albeit from Mexico) I can understand the attraction from this end.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

Yes, I have looked at some of these sites and what a plethora of beauties there are! Wow!

[Siamese Princess]

Excellent post, Livius. The not-quite-so-encompassing socialism in Europe (and to a lesser extent still, here in the US) has had a similar effect. Family ties are weakened (because the welfare state renders the family redundant) and simply the ability to think and plan ahead for oneself.

[OKIEDOC]

I believe this all could be remedied if Russia was more believing in God.

The liberals would like to blame this on other factors. However, a lack of faith in a higher being is indirectly tied to all of their problems.

[dasboot]

Age: 35 Date of Birth: 8 / 29 / 1969 Height: 5' 11" (180 cm) Weight: 130 lbs (59 kg) Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Blond Horoscope Sign: Virgo

Profession: Psychologist Education: College Language ability: E2 Second Language Third Language Religion: Christian

Marital Status: Div Children: Boy - 14

Drinking: Never Smoking: No

Residence: Odessa, Ukraine View Map

[GarySpFc]

There are at least a hundred-thousand Ukranian and russian gals posting on websites, looking for husbands in economically free countries. They are Christian professionals (doctors, lawyers, college students)who want lots of kids and security. One site alone boasts over 50,000 nuptials arrainged since 1973!

US, AU, UK, .......that's where they're going! (and fine, fine women they are....a friend told me)

I spent 18 years looking for a conservative Christian lady with a good heart in the States without success. I had dated many fine looking ladies here, but I wanted a Proverbs 31 lady, but the ones I found their hearts just didn't seem to be with the Lord. Little did I think the Lord would lead me to Russia for a wife, but He did. I searched through 25 to 30,000 profiles in Russia after meeting a very elegant married Christian lady from the Ukraine. In early 2000 I received a response to my search from a lady who was a child psychologist in Volgograd. She sent only two pictures, and in both appeared to be an average looking school teacher. However, I knew immediately this was the lady with the good heart I was seeking, and I let her know it. I was committed to winning her heart. Approximately 2.5 months later she sent a second packet of pictures, and I was stunned to see she was Georgi's. I wasn't seeking "a babe."

After hundreds of e-mails and phone calls I flew to Volgograd to spend a month with her. I was determined to marry her. When I arrived I was shocked to see her pictures didn't do her justice. Three days later I asked her, "You know why I came to Russia?" She replied, "Yes." Then I asked, "You do know I came to ask you to marry me?" She replied, "Yes. yes."

Six months later my Russian princess arrived in Kansas City. We married the following month. I have the Proverbs 31 lady I was seeking. Furthermore, my family friends, and everyone who knows Nadya loves her. You will find our story at:
http://home.kc.rr.com/thebutners/
http://www.volgogradrussianwomen.com/index.htm
VolgogradRussianWomen-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Let me caution you. Not everyone comes back with a good hearted princess. Those men only seeking a release for their hormones frequently and unknowingly bring back a prostitute or a demon from hell.

[GarySpFc]

I think that when the all-knowing, all-encompassing government collapsed, Russians didn't know how to function. Animals that are in a high stress situation will cease reproduction, and it seems to me that Russians suddenly felt themselves in a high-stress situation. Because they had been trained for generations to look to the State as the source of all good, they had no idea of how to rely on each other, build or maintain sustained marriage relationships, or even rely on their own abilities to survive (other than those who got into crime, which was the only independent activity that seemed to exist in the old USSR).

I know hundreds of Russians in the States, and what you are saying is true in many cases of those over 50. However, those under 50 and even a few over have adapted very well to capitalism. Similarly those in Russia under 45 have bought into capitalism, and are very successful.

[GarySpFc]

Let me caution you. There are many scammers in the former Soviet Union. Just remember, the babe you see in post 14 might actually be unshaven fat Ivan puffing on a cigarette and drinking a shot of vodka as he types a love letter to you.

[GarySpFc]

But there is a deeper problem. Communism drove religion from the land with oppression and murder. Today, there are very few vestiges of Christianity left, and as a result, Russians have no moral compass.

That was true when the Soviet Union fell, but since then we have seen the greatest Christian revival since the Reformation.

[dasboot]

Congratulations!

[eluminate]

The article is great but its gloom and doom ignores several parameters. The default played a huge role in the suppression of the birthrate as well as people immigrating elsewhere. As people stoped leaving en masse and the ecconomy became a bit more active instead of being dead the situation improved. Other factors are the institution of root re-integration. Financial insentives for larger families and per child subsidy. Also Orthodox revival and activism with the daily life to encourage families and prpogation. The situation looks horrible at present however I m trying to be optimistic and looked in many places for optimistic info.

Hopefully the birth rate will increase just by how much is the question. The most optimistic I could get is 1.8-9 in 5 years maybe 2.5 in 10 if a baby boom occured in the next 5 years it would stimulate a revival but I cant see anything happening except I noticed the decrease in the age women give birth decreasing ergo women start having children earlier which is semi-odd.