The Demographic Consequences of Social Deviations among Russia’s Youth

Abstract

Demographic losses among Russian youth due to social deviations (suicides, homicides, alcohol and drug abuse) are analyzed in comparison with the countries of the “old” (before May 2004) and “new” (after May 2004) European Union. It is shown that, although the contribution of deviance-caused losses to total mortality among youth has increased in both Russia and Europe over the last 30 years, Russia has been the leader by the significance of this unquestionably avoidable factor. At present, it is this factor that determines more than one-third of the total mortality of young men and nearly one-fourth of that among young women in our country. The evolution of the structure of social deviance-caused losses shows differently directed processes in Russia and Europe. It is the significance of suicides that has been increasing in both the old and new European Union, while in Russia, it is the significance of injuries with undetermined intent. In essence, this vague diagnosis masks the underreporting of deaths from alcohol and drug poisoning, suicides, and murders—in total, from one-third to 100% of the cases. It means that mortality from social deviations in Russia compared to the EU is even higher than in official statistics.