Kremlin’s New Demography Strategy Document Calls for Spending Enormous Sums but Not for Slowing Russia's Population Decline, Demographers Say

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Mar. 28 – With much pomp, the Kremlin has released a new strategy document on family and demographic policy for the next decade; but unfortunately, Moscow demographer Yury Krupnov says, it has “no relation to demography” and thus, even if followed to the letter, will have little impact on Russia’s demographic decline.
    The senior scholar at the Moscow Institute of Demography, Migration and Regional Development says that what goals the document talks about aren’t about increasing the birthrate. Rather, it is at best “a strategy of the withering away” of the Russian nation with the Kremlin serving as its funeral staff (nakanune.ru/articles/123323/).
    Other independent demographers queried by Nakanune journalist Yevgeny Chernyshov agree.  Inna Gorslavtseva, one who advises the Moscow Patriarchate, says that what the strategy demonstrates is that “the powers that be do not have any idea what to do” and thus have adopted “a strategy of inaction.”
    What that means, she continues, is that the Kremlin is clearly counting on “replacing” the existing Russian population with migrants from one part of the world or another, something Russians fear and that almost all of them oppose.  A view Yury Pronko of Tsargrad television shares.
    And Pavel Pohigaylo, deputy head of the Social Chamber’s commission on demography, says that what is truly horrific is how much the Kremlin says it will spend to get such a horrific result: 17 trillion rubles (170 billion US dollars) to preside over the decline of the Russian population over the next decade by five million people.