Russian Cross
Encyclopedia
Russian Cross refers to a demographic trend in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Since 1988 birth rates among native Russians (as well as most other ethnic groups of the European part of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) 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
Alcoholism in Russia
Alcoholism in Russia has been a problem throughout the country's history due to drinking being a pervasive element of society. Moreover, it has also been a major source of government revenue for centuries...
that took place in Russia and other countries of the European part of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in the late 1980s and early 1990s), 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
Andrey Korotayev
Andrey Korotayev is an anthropologist, economic historian, and sociologist, with major contributions to world-systems theory, cross-cultural studies, Near Eastern history, and mathematical modeling of social and economic macrodynamics.Education and career=Born in Moscow, Andrey Korotayev attended...
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.
External links
- Nicholas Eberstadt, Russia’s Peacetime Demographic Crisis: Dimensions, Causes, Implications (NBR Project Report, May 2010)
- Russia's Demographic Decline Continues