Russia is dying.
Bloomberg reports that reported abortions outnumbered live births by more than 100,000 last year in that country—there were likely many more unreported abortions. Add to this the facts that the death rate (out-of-womb death rate, that is) exceeds the birth rate by 50%, and that there is no immigrant inflow worth speaking of, and we have a significant geopolitical disaster in the making.
A vanishing Russia has nothing to fear from its European neighbors (who are dealing with
their own population crisis), but it has plenty to fear from its neighbors to the south: the Muslims in Central Asia and the mineral-hungry Chinese in East Asia, neither of which would hesitate to move northward at the opportune time.
Interestingly, Russian scientists blame the abortion rate on poverty—which makes sense until one realizes that
most poverty-stricken countries have out of control
birth rates. Europeans have apparently decided that children are a hindrance to their pursuit of happiness, and it looks like many Russians have concluded the same.
(Credit: Adam's Blog)