Mortality as a social problem: 2001–2017

Abstract

The article presents a sociological analysis of the mortality rate of the population of post-Soviet Russia. The socio-demographic characteristics of respondents who passed away due to diseases of the circulatory system, respiratory system, cancer, suicide, homicide, external causes and due to the old age are analyzed. Statistical data of Rosstat (2018) and sociological databases of RLMS-HSE (2001–2017) are used as an empirical basis, the results of the analysis are consistent. In the conditions of Russia's depopulation, not only the health of an individual is important, but also the health of the nation as a whole. As the analysis reveals, only 5% of the population of modern Russia die of old age, while 95% of deaths are a consequence of social factors. In the opinion of the author the reasons for this situation are the optimization of the Russian health care system, the "modernization" of the economy, a dangerous ecological situation, degradation of the institutions of family and marriage, of the educational institutions, unemployment, low incomes of the population, etc. The article analyses the social factors affecting the causes of death of men and women, socio-demographic portraits of the deceased are given. The author demonstrates the unfolding demographic catastrophe of modern Russia - a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in mortality, that will inevitably be followed by an economic collapse and social chaos. The analyzed problem is not unique and characteristic only for Russia. This catastrophe looms over the countries of Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. The data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey by the National Research University Higher School of Economics and Demoscope LLC with the participation of the Population Center of the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Research Sociological Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow) was used as an empirical sociological basis for the study.