Russian population declines by 1 million due to Coronavirus; President Vladimir Putin expresses concern

Moscow/Washington: – The increasing intensity of the Coronavirus pandemic has hit the Russian population. In just one year, there has been a decline of 1 million in the Russian population and President Vladimir Putin has expressed concerns over the situation. The local agencies informed that more than 650,000 people have died in the Coronavirus pandemic. Russia is in the list of top five countries on the international level having maximum deaths due to Coronavirus.

Moreover, the Russian government agency Rosstat shared the information regarding the country’s population. It has been reported that there has been a decline of more than 1 million in the Russian population in the year 2021. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said the Coronavirus pandemic is a primary reason for this decline.

The reducing birth rate in Russia also has been a major contributing factor to the population decline. The current birth rate in Russia is 1.5 per woman. As per the experts in Russia, this rate has to be 2.1 per woman for proper population growth.

It has been revealed that President Putin has taken serious cognisance of the declining birth rate and population. The government under the leadership of President Putin has announced special concessions and financial assistance to promote the birth rate. Putin presented his stand regarding this matter. He said that the population of a mere 146 million is grossly insufficient for a country of the size of Russia. Besides, it is a major jolt in consideration of the economy. Russia has more than 80 million fit, healthy and strong people. This number will increase in the coming decade as the population is an important geopolitical issue. Maintaining the population in the right proportion is an important objective and this becomes vital for economic development.

But it is evident from the figures that the government’s efforts fell short given the increasing intensity of the Coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus pandemic claimed more than 150,000 lives in Russia in the last quarter of 2021. Whereas, in the new year, the number of Coronavirus cases is seen to rise consistently. Last week, more than a hundred thousand new cases were reported in just 24 hours. As per the information given by the Russian Federal Statistics Service and the news agency Reuters, the total number of Coronavirus deaths in Russia has crossed 700,000.

Local analysts and volunteer organisations are claiming that the increasing intensity of Coronavirus could pose a severe challenge to Russia in the new year.