Because of War in Ukraine and Kremlin's Promotion of Toxic Masculinity, Gender Gap in Population and Life Expectancy in Russia Again on the Rise, Demographers Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 5 – Because of war and other societal traumas in the Soviet Union, the share of men in the population of the Russian Federation is lower relative to women than in almost any other country and the gap between life expectancy of men and women there extremely high, Russian demographers say.

             Between 2006 and 2021, these differences began to narrow; but with the launch of Putin’s expanded war in Ukraine and both the combat losses it has produced and the toxic masculine behaviors including increased alcohol consumption related to the war, both male-feel divisions have widened once again (cherta.media/story/strana-zhenshhin/).

            In 2020, women formed 54 percent of the population of the Russian Federation, while men formed only 46 percent, demographers say; and they outlived men on average by 10 years. Now, new data show that the share of women in the population is rising, and the gap in life expectancy between the two genders is as well. Now, it is again over 11 years. 

            Many continue to blame these patterns on events of the 20^th century, independent Moscow demographer Aleksey Raksha says; but that is a mistake. Today’s gender differences reflect both deaths from the war in Ukraine and even more, others say, riskier male behavior, including the over-consumption of hard liquor in the form of vodka or samogon.

            Alcohol currently is behind “no fewer than 150,000 to 200,000 deaths in Russia each year, Raksha says, “and about 80 percent of them are men” who drink in response to the absence of the kind of possibilities that exist in other societies that encourage men in them to drink ever less and to worry more about taking care of their health. 

            Russian sociologist Irina Tartakovskaya says the shortage of men has enormous negative consequences for society, including but not limited to hostility toward women among men who can’t find sexual partners and the increasing number of female-headed single parent families who are poorer and a greater drain on state resources.

            In Russia today, 4,850,000 families are in that category, “almost 40 percent of the total,” official statistics show (https://govoritmoskva.ru/news/406224); and their share will only increase if the gender gaps in Russia continue and the government does nothing to alter its current support for toxic masculinity.

            But even if the war ends soon and the Russian government stops supporting risky male behaviors, Russian demographers like Raksha say, the likelihood that either of the gender gaps in Russian demography will change anytime in the next several decades is very low. Consequently, at least for the near future, the situation with regard to them and Russian society will get worse.