A once-great nation is dying out
Russia is literally dying, said Nicholas Eberstadt and Hans Groth in The Wall Street Journal Europe. The
Nicholas Eberstadt and Hans Groth
The Wall Street Journal Europe (Belgium)
Russia is literally dying, said Nicholas Eberstadt and Hans Groth in The Wall Street Journal Europe. The “ambitious goal” the Kremlin has set of making Russia the world’s fifth largest economy by the year 2020 is almost certainly unachievable—there just aren’t enough Russian workers. In fact, Russia is far more likely to go into a steep and gloomy decline. “Brutally high levels of mortality” combine with “anemic fertility levels” to produce a perfect storm of depopulation. Thanks to excessive drinking and smoking, and an epidemic of violent crime, Russian men have a lower life expectancy than do Bangladeshis. And many of them die during their prime working years. Women fare little better, and they don’t have nearly enough children
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
to make up for the die-off. The result: The working-age population is projected to shrink by nearly 20 percent in just the next 25 years. President-elect Dmitri Medvedev says he can avert that dire scenario by offering childbirth incentives. But he’s dreaming. “There is not a single example from modern history where pro-natal policies have been able to achieve a sustainable demographic reversal.” Without a miraculous turnaround in public health, Russia is doomed.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Andor series two: a 'perfect' Star Wars show
The Week Recommends Second instalment of Tony Gilroy's 'compelling' spin-off is a triumph
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK
-
The rise and fall of 4chan
The Explainer Most notorious messageboard on the internet appears to have posted its last meme
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Protein obsession is oversaturating the health food space
Under the Radar Some experts say that fiber is now the most important macro to focus on
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Malaysia: Hiding something or just incompetent?
feature It is “painful to watch” how Malaysia has embarrassed itself before the world with its bungled response to the missing plane.
By The Week Staff
-
Tunisia: The only bloom of the Arab Spring
feature After years of “stormy discussions and intellectual tug-of-war,” Tunisia has emerged as a secular democracy.
By The Week Staff
-
Australia: It takes two to reconcile
feature To move beyond Australia’s colonialist past, we Aborigines must forgive.
By The Week Staff
-
Israel: Ariel Sharon’s ambiguous legacy
feature Ariel Sharon played a key role at every major crossroads Israel faced in his adult life.
By The Week Staff
-
South Africa: Trying to live up to Mandela
feature That South Africa was prepared for the death of Nelson Mandela is one of his greatest legacies.
By The Week Staff
-
China: Staking a claim to the air and the sea
feature China has declared an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea that includes a set of islands claimed by Japan.
By The Week Staff
-
China: Is our aid to the Philippines too meager?
feature China donated $100,000 to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, but later increased the amount to $1.6 million.
By The Week Staff
-
Philippines: A calamitous response to calamity
feature “Where is the food, where is the water? Where are the military collecting the dead?”
By The Week Staff