The Formation and Beginning of the Working Life of the Pre-War Generation: A Demographer’s Memories

This article presents a demographic and biographical study of the life trajectories of the pre-War generation born in the 1940s. The author, who is a member of that generation, analyses its development against a backdrop of significant historical events, such as the Great Patriotic War, the post-war period, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and contemporary transformations. The research is based on statistical analysis of census data from 1950 to 2010 and the author’s personal experiences. The paper examines in detail demographic losses among generations during different historical periods, including war years (from 1939 to 1960), peacetime years (1970-1980), and post-Soviet years (after 2000). Special attention is given to socio-demographic changes, such as changes in generation size, influence of historical events on demographic trends, and specificities of professional development paths. The author also describes her own professional journey in demographic research, which includes work at the Central Economics Research Institute under State Planning Commission of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and development of research interests in population migration.