Russia is dying a slow death.

[Martin]

we had this Russia thread here a few weeks ago, and I was surprised at how unrealistic some of the posts, one guy going as far as

Russia is poised to become an economical superpower.

...no.

Russia has a ton of problems and most of them aren't even getting addressed.

-Their economy is booming, but its pretty much only because of resources. This brings in money, but most poeple don't see as much of a benefit of it as the numbers imply.
-Their population is dying. Male life expectancy is 58 years and its expected that within 50 years their population will go down to 100m. Very few Russians want immigration and as their population plunges, (even if they do continue to grow richer) they will not be able to have any influence and their role on the world stage will eventually go down to about the level of Britain or France today (or less).

Here is a long and intereting article which goes into the population contraction into great detail, and also goes into Russians' view on immigration, etc. Well worth the read, especially for those of you with a rosy view of Russia.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/...w0422russia/BNStory/RussiaShrinks/home

 

[Meuge]

Good.

 

[CanOWorms]

It's pretty similar to what's happening to most of Europe (except the economy is booming part). Their population is decreasing and the rise of far-right supremacists explodes, preventing the need for immigration. I think it's why some of these countries support the introduction of colonialism-like policies such as Kyoto, ICC, etc. and actions such as genocides around the world. They know that they won't be able to compete with growing countries in the developing world (as well as the US), so they're trying to stunt their growth to keep competitive. Unfortunately, I believe they're creating a scenario for WW3.

The numbers in the article also differ from the Population Reference Bureau's numbers. They have Russia declining by 17% by 2050. Japan is at -20%, Germany -9%, Italy -10%, etc. Some of the Eastern European countries have horrible rates such as Bulgaria with -38% and Romania with -28%. To compare, the US is expected to grow at 43%, Canada around 20%.

 

[Amplifier]

Hey Russia, free up your economy idiots.

 

[Albatross]

can`t say i feel sorry for russia

 

[Proletariat]

"Such xenophobic nationalism has recently spread into mainstream politics. The phrase "Russia for Russians" was fully or partially supported by 53 per cent of respondents in a recent Levada Centre poll. The Rodina party, whose name means Motherland, is the fastest-growing political force in Russia. It recently aired television ads showing dark-skinned men chewing watermelon and throwing the rinds on the street.

"Let's clean our city of trash," the advertisement said, with an implication that clearly wasn't related to discarded fruit.Such xenophobic nationalism has recently spread into mainstream politics. The phrase "Russia for Russians" was fully or partially supported by 53 per cent of respondents in a recent Levada Centre poll. The Rodina party, whose name means Motherland, is the fastest-growing political force in Russia. It recently aired television ads showing dark-skinned men chewing watermelon and throwing the rinds on the street.

"Let's clean our city of trash," the advertisement said, with an implication that clearly wasn't related to discarded fruit."

Good let them die a slow death. It is karma.

 

[Ika]

in 50 years, someone will rise to bring Russia around.

 

[fitzov]

The stats on this are sketchy. Studies showing a decrease in life expectancy examine a trend from 1990 to 1994. People have also left Russia in droves after 1990. I don't tend to think this indicates that Russia will never recover, but that as their economy adapts to the new form of government, things will level off and turn around. People from the former soviet republics (e.g. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Belarus) also come to Russia to work and stay.

 

[Forsythe]

I think dying is overstating it. I consider it merely a standstill, maybe a few steps back. At one point there will be change, a revolutionary change. And lets hope they can get rid of that government.