MOSCOW: Squeezed between emigration and growing economic problems, Russia is experiencing a serious population decline. Official statistics released in January show three deaths for every two births. Through 2004, the population fell by half a percent to 143.5 million. A decade ago, 148 million people lived in Russia. It does not help that the life expectancy of the average Russian is 15 years less than in the United States. “Everyone is greatly concerned about the deepening demographic crisis in the country. President Vladimir Putin also raised this issue in his Children’s Day address and called for a radical approach to arrest the increasing crisis,” Duma deputy Vladimir Zhirinovsky said.
“During the parliamentary (election) campaign I raised this issue of taking measures to boost the numbers of the dwindling Russian population because I know where this country with a continuously declining population is heading,” he said.
Zhirinovsky says the demographic situation is getting catastrophic, partly also because there are about nine million fewer men than women. The birth rate needs to be stimulated, and emigration of Russians due to worsening economic problems checked, he says. “We as lawmakers have to analyse the Family Code in relation to this problem and if possibly legalize polygamy, introduce changes in the federal legislation to eliminate barriers preventing the establishment of normal relations in families. By these measures, we would be saving our population from extinction.”
Yekaterina Lakhova, another leading deputy, says women must be the focus of new efforts. “All our work has been focused on the problems of mothers and children, drug addiction, family poverty and the status of women which are very important for the Russia’s population as well,” said Lakhova, who also runs the “Women’s Movement of Russia”.
“Women form just about eight to 10 percent of people in authority, and this comes in the way of the need to alter policies affecting women and families,” she said.
“The demographic crisis largely depends on economic guarantees offered by the constitution for women to support families. Equal participation of men and women in government leads to acceptance of political, social and economic policy, hence to political stability which forms a basis to solve population decline.”
The crisis has set off a new debate on inviting immigrants to halt the population decline.
Putin told cabinet ministers recently that Russia must welcome economic migrants from the former Soviet republics as the shrinking population begins to drag down the economy.
“We all know that Russia’s working population is on the decline and that it will not be long before this begins to have a negative effect on our economic growth,” Putin said. But the situation has worsened so much, he said, that “even immigration no longer has a positive effect on the demographic situation in the country. It no longer compensates for the natural population decline, as was the case in the mid-1990s”. Immigration from the impoverished former Soviet states had slowed down, he said. Putin acknowledged that excessive bureaucracy was discouraging immigrants. Four million immigrants already in Russia were living outside the law, he said, because in most cases it was too difficult to legalize their residential status. Some blame a 2002 law tightening the rules on Russian citizenship. Putin instructed his ministers to draft amendments to migration laws, though he did not specify changes he was proposing, or set a deadline for proposals.
Migration is a sensitive issue in Russia, where popular resentment against migrants, many of whom have a darker skin and are Muslims, runs high. Workers from countries like Azerbaijan and Tajikistan are frequent targets of racist attacks and police harassment and torture, and are often deported.
The International Human Rights Assembly called this week for stripping law enforcement agencies of their duties to control migration. “No way should the interior ministry and other law enforcement agencies deal with migration issues,” group president Mikhail Arutyunov said.
Law enforcement agencies have been widely criticized for treating foreigners, especially those from the former Soviet republics as criminals. ”The mentality of Russian people doesn’t suit what the migration service should be implementing, and this contributes to the social and demographic woes,” Arutyunov said.
”An effectively implemented immigration policy is of critical importance for Russia at this time.”
But Putin has spoken of immigration as only a short-term solution. Russia’s low birth rate and high death rate would have to be tackled, he said.—Dawn/The InterPress News Service.
