Since Putin Became President, Predominantly Ethnic Russian Regions have Seen Their Populations Plummet and the Number of Ghost Towns in Them Jump

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Dec. 15 – Vladimir Putin has cast himself as the defender of the Russian world, but in the almost 25 years since he became president, predominantly ethnic Russian regions across the country have plummeted and the number of ghost towns, villages in which no one lives any more, jump.
    Predominantly ethnic Russian regions have seen their populations decline by from 150,000 to more than 400,000 each, as residents have died off or fled to larger cities (region.expert/dying/), and the number of ghost towns has risen by a few hundred in Perm to over 2200 in Tver (facebook.com/groups/661124300699950/permalink/3730378770441139).
    These new figures show that the trends of the first decades of Putin’s rule are accelerating, something that means Russia is rapidly becoming a place of cities surrounded by empty spaces at least in predominantly ethnic Russian regions (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2016/12/one-in-five-villages-in-many-parts-of.html).