Paul Goble
Staunton, Dec. 23 – Over the last decade and especially since Putin launched his expanded invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has cut back on the release of statistics on a wide variety of issues. In the past year, the To Be Precise portal says, it has restricted or even stopped the release of demographic data in particular.
Since 2024, it reports, neither Rosstat nor the Unified Inter-Agency Statistical Platform (which may close in 2026) has published summary data on causes of death or regional data on life expectancy. And it has reduced release of data on births and deaths (tochno.st/materials/v-2025-godu-iz-otkrytogo-dostupa-ubrali-bolee-300-datasetov-cashhe-vsego-skryvali-demograficeskuiu-statistiku).
These government statistical outlets have not published data on immigration; and some fear that they will stop publishing data on all changes in the size of the population of the country, thereby allowing the Kremlin to make claims that scholars won’t be able to challenge and that officials will have to act without knowing that key variable, To be Precise says.
Demographers say that restrictions on the release of data appear to be a reaction by the powers that be to news stories that show conditions in Russia in a negative way; but the powers forget that without this information, their own bureaucracies won’t be in a position to come up with adequate policies or apply them effectively.
Just how far the Kremlin is prepared to go in closing down this window on Russian life will become evident in the next few weeks when Rosstat and other Russian government agencies are scheduled to release annual reports. If those don’t contain new data – and that unfortunately is likely to be the case – demographic information from Russia is going to be much harder to get.
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