KONSTANTIN KAZENIN: “RUSSIA BROKE THE RECORD FOR MORTALITY IN JUST ONE YEAR”

The natural population decline in Russia has reached a million people over the past 12 months, which is an all-time high in the history of this country, URA.ru reports. Senior researcher at the Center for Political Economy and Regional Development of the Gaidar Institute Konstantin Kazenin noted the high mortality rate among elderly citizens.

“There is such an effect that during its “peak” period, the pandemic hits especially ruthlessly those who, because of their health problems and advanced age, could not hope to live for many more years even without it. This distressing phenomenon is known as harvesting effect. It contributes significantly to the excess mortality level during the pandemic, and this is why after the end of the pandemic, mortality for a while declines below its usual level. This affects life expectancy, but this “compensatory” mortality decline in the aftermath of certain events like the pandemic is most often short-lived,” the expert explained.