Moscow has Cut Back Release of Data Across the Board This Year but Especially on Demography, ‘To Be Precise’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 6 – The To Be Precise portal, which assembles data on key issues of public concern, says that so far this year, the Russian government has eliminated 140 data sets altogether and stopped renewing 425 others. This cutback has affected many areas but especially demography, an indication of how worried the Kremlin is about that.

            The portal’s Boris Gi, says that in the last several months, the Russian authorities “have ceased to publish almost all basic demographic indicators,” a move that reduces the possibility of knowing what is going on (tochno.st/materials/v-2025-godu-v-rossii-iscezli-140-datasetov-i-perestali-obnovliatsia-425-pokazatelei-bolse-vsego-postradala-demograficeskaia-statistika).

            According to the researcher, the data no longer being released or updated falls into three main categories: economic and financial, mortality and crime. It is likely that the Kremlin has cut back the first to avoid more sanctions, the second, to make it more difficult to determine losses in war in Ukraine, and the third, to limit speculation on social problems in the Russian Federation.

            While the situation has gotten significantly worse this year, the portal continues, the cutbacks in the release and updating of data in fact began in 2018 and rose continuously have risen continuously since then. Consequently, it appears likely that the amount of data the Russian government will release will decline even further in the future.

            Government efforts to conceal just how far this has gone are only calling attention to the problem. In July, Rosstat restarted its Open Data Portal after a two-year hiatus. But only 34 of the 45 federal agencies are taking part and most only in the most formal and limited way, Gi concludes, with most not providing any updated data.