Russian Cross
The Russian Cross is the name of a demographic trend in Russia: since 1988 birth rates among native Russians (as well as most other ethnic groups of the European part of the former Soviet Union) have been declining, while since 1991 the death rates have been climbing. In 1992, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births, and has continued to do more or less so ever since. When this trend is plotted on a line graph starting from the mid-1980s and continuing to the present, the lines cross at 1992, hence the name. There is no evident causative link between the two trends (though some scientists have tried to connect them through the catastrophic growth of alcohol consumption that took place in Russia and other countries of the European part of the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s),[1] but the graph has become a symbol of Russia's increasingly serious population shrinkage.
It has been demonstrated that this is connected with the fact that post-Soviet Russia experiences one of the world's highest prevalence of alcohol-related problems, which contributes to high mortality rates in this region. Reduction in alcohol-related problems in Russia could have strong effects on mortality decline. Andrey Korotayev and Daria Khaltourina have analyzed the plausibility of application of general principles of alcohol policy to the Russian Federation. They have shown that alcohol policy approaches could be implemented in the same ways as they have been in other countries. In addition, according to Korotayev, there should be special attention to decreasing distilled spirits consumption, illegal alcohol production, nonbeverage alcohol consumption, and enforcement of current governmental regulations.[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ See, e.g., Korotayev A., Khaltourina D. Russian Demographic Crisis in Cross-National Perspective // Russia and Globalization: Identity, Security, and Society in an Era of Change / Ed. by D. W. Blum. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. P. 37-78.
- ^ See, e.g., Korotayev A., Khaltourina D. Russian Demographic Crisis in Cross-National Perspective. Russia and Globalization: Identity, Security, and Society in an Era of Change. Ed. by D. W. Blum. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. P. 37-78; Khaltourina, D. A., & Korotayev, A. V. 'Potential for alcohol policy to decrease the mortality crisis in Russia', Evaluation & the Health Professions, vol. 31, no. 3, Sep 2008. pp. 272–281.
[edit] Bibliography
- Korotayev A., Khaltourina D. Russian Demographic Crisis in Cross-National Perspective // Russia and Globalization: Identity, Security, and Society in an Era of Change / Ed. by D. W. Blum. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. P. 37-78.
- Khaltourina, D. A., & Korotayev, A. V. 'Potential for alcohol policy to decrease the mortality crisis in Russia', Evaluation & the Health Professions, vol. 31, no. 3, Sep 2008. pp. 272–281.
- Leon D. A., Chenet L., Shkolnikov V. M., Zakharov S., Shapiro J., Rakhmanova G., Vassin S., McKee M. 1997. Huge Variation in Russian Federation Mortality Rates 1984–1994: Artefact, Alcohol or What? // Lancet 350(9075): 383–388.
[edit] External links
- Nicholas Eberstadt, Russia’s Peacetime Demographic Crisis: Dimensions, Causes, Implications (NBR Project Report, May 2010)
- Russia's Demographic Decline Continues
