Russia’s Demographic Crisis Has Ended

This about Demographics, tagged , was written by for on February 21, 2012 .7 Comments

I will have a much longer and detailed post on this in the future, with new projections, but this breaking news (at least as far as it comes with dry demographic statistics) so I can’t refrain from writing a preliminary post on the matter. For all intents and purposes, Russia’s demographic crisis – the infamous […]

Maksim Schweiz – It’s Time To Shove Off To Belarus!

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by , for on October 2, 2011 .19 Comments

In the vein of my recent posts on the myth of Russian emigration, I am now publishing a translation of Уехать в Белоруссию (“Go Off To Belarus”) by Maksim Schweiz writing for Rosbalt news agency. It is a joint effort by Nils van der Vegte, who blogs with Joera Mulders at Russia Watchers and is […]

Time To Shove Off! And What Then?…

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by for on October 2, 2011 .21 Comments

If I had a cent for every Russia story from the past week that featured the (conclusively debunked) “sixth wave of emigration” meme… And if wishes were fishes. Still, the coverage of Russian reactions to Putin’s return does demonstrate the venality and general fecklessness of the Western MSM. As Adomanis correctly noted, it is “negative […]

The Russophobes Were Right… (About The Wrong Country)

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by for on September 17, 2011 .87 Comments

After peaking in 2007 at the height of its oil boom, the Russian economy slid off the rails, with GDP collapsing by 25% from peak to trough. Attempts to stem the decline by arresting pessimistic economists failed. Its image as a tiger economy, heavily promoted by Kremlin ideologues, was revealed to be a sham. Though […]

Nikolai Starikov – How Russian Liberals Create Russophobe Myths

This , about Demographics, tagged , , , was written by for on July 23, 2011 .59 Comments

Do you remember the growing chorus of voices in the Western media speaking of a “growing wave” of emigration from Putin’s Russia? Those 1.25 million liberal professionals who have fled that neo-Soviet abyss in the past few years? As it turns out, not only are these stories complete fabrications – in a previous post, I […]

Russia’s Brain Drain Abates, Just As Western Media Starts Hyping It

This about Demographics, tagged , , , was written by for on June 25, 2011 .43 Comments

Everything’s going badly in Russia. Medvedev’s reforms are failing. The economy isn’t growing. It is moving from authoritarianism to totalitarianism (in stark contrast to civilized Western countries), and the motto “We cannot live like this any longer!” once again becomes an article of faith in the land – or well, at least among “the blogs […]

Russia Demographic Update VI

This about Demographics, tagged , , , was written by for on June 3, 2011 .16 Comments

As we’re now approaching mid-2011, I suppose its time to give my traditional update on Russia’s demography. So here’s the lay-down: 1. In February, I predicted a population decline of c. 50,000 in 2010 (after a 23,000 rise in 2009). This was due to the excess deaths of the Great Russian Heatwave of 2010, and […]

The Uncertain Future Of Cheap Russian Booze

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by for on April 28, 2011 .3 Comments

One thing that strikes you, as you wander the shops of any Russian city, is the sheer cheapness of booze and cigs. As little as 3 years ago, one could buy a pint-sized bottle of beer or a pack of cigarettes for just $1, while a 0.5l bottle of vodka cost as little as $3. Prices have since […]

Russia’s Population Is Now Growing

This about Demographics, tagged , , was written by for on March 28, 2011 .9 Comments

The preliminary results of the 2010 Census are out, showing that the population has fallen to 142.9 million. This compares to 145.2 million counted in the previous 2002 Census. Most headlines have emphasized the falling population aspect of “Putin’s decade”. But the more interesting stuff is in the derivatives. According to state statistics agency Rosstat, […]

Russia’s Demographic Resilience V

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by for on February 3, 2011 .24 Comments

In summary, the excess deaths from the once-in-10,000-years heatwave canceled out most of the increase in births, causing the rate of natural decrease to fall by only 7,400 relative to 2009. Adding in the 82,500 drop in net immigration for Jan-Nov 2009, and we can estimate that Russia’s population will fall by about 50,000 this […]

Three Hypotheses About Demographic Reporting In Nezavisimaya Gazeta

This about Demographics, tagged , , was written by for on November 20, 2010 .4 Comments

Russia’s demographic revival stalled in 2010, after several years of fast improvements. In January-September, though the birth rate increased by 16,700 souls on the same period last year, it was counterbalanced by an increase in deaths by 37,200 – all of them and more courtesy of the 44,000 excess deaths caused by the Great Russian Heatwave of […]

Russia’s Demographic Resilience IV

This about Demographics, tagged , was written by for on July 28, 2010 .13 Comments

Russia’s demographic situation continued improving this year: according to the H1 2010 data released by Rosstat, relative to the same period last year, the number of births increased by 2.3% from 12.1‰ to 12.4‰ and deaths fell by 1.8% from 14.6‰ to 14.4‰. This means that once net migration is factored in, Russia is set to register […]