Putin pointed out how to reduce the population decline in Russia
Vladimir Putin showed the authorities of the regions of Russia how to stop the population decline. At a meeting with Acting Governor of the Vladimir Region Alexander Avdeev on August 17, the president instructed him to fight drunkenness in the region. Putin gave Avdeev such a task, since alcoholism is one of the main causes of Russia's demographic problems and the reduction of the country's labor force, experts told URA.RU.
Avdeev reported to the president on the economic development of the Vladimir region, on the measures taken to support the social sphere and industrial enterprises, as well as on joint work with federal departments. “In general, the situation in the region is stable, satisfactory, the main indicators are in good condition. Industrial production, agriculture, construction are growing. Emergency housing is lower than the national average, unemployment is lower than the national average,” Putin stated.
The President drew attention to the problem of alcoholism among the population. “What I noticed: the incidence rate with a diagnosis of “alcoholism” and “alcoholic psychosis” in 2021 amounted to 122.6 cases per 100,000 citizens, which is 2.6 times higher than in Russia. It's a lot. It is impossible to prohibit anything here, it is impossible to engage in an excessive
rise in prices , excise taxes, and so on. It is necessary to deal with this, not to farm it out, not to think that this is some kind of secondary thing: the peasants drink and will continue to drink. No, everything is not so primitive and simple,” Putin warned.
The first measure that the president proposed to the head of the Vladimir region to combat alcoholism and its consequences is the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. “Among all measures, the promotion of a healthy lifestyle is of great importance. The practice of recent years shows that these are simple things, but very effective,” he stressed.
However, promotion of a healthy lifestyle alone is not enough to solve the problem of alcoholism, Putin added. “We need to develop infrastructure for sports, physical education and culture in the true and broad sense of the word. It is necessary to pay attention to cultural objects, to create conditions for people to visit these objects, to cultivate interest in culture. There is something to do here, especially since the region itself in this sense is one of the strongholds of Russian culture in the truest sense of the word. Then health issues. We need to do this in a targeted way,” the head of state instructed.
According to the president, Avdeev has the resources and competencies to improve the situation. “The issues that you have identified are really very important,” the acting governor agreed with Putin.
In addition to the incidence of alcoholism, the Vladimir region also stands out for the worse in terms of demographic indicators. According to Rosstat data for 2021, the region ranks fourth in terms of the ratio of the number of deaths to births among all regions of the Russian Federation. Putin also mentioned the high level of alcoholism among the population as an important problem
at a meeting with Acting Head of the Kirov Region Alexander Sokolov on August 9.
Putin raised the issue of combating alcoholism, since there is a direct connection between the alcoholization of the population and demographic problems in the Russian Federation, said Alexei Raksha, a former employee of Rosstat, an independent demographer, in an interview with URA.RU. “The more people use alcohol or other drugs, the higher the death rate and the lower the birth rate. In the first full year after the start
of Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign , 200,000 fewer people died in the USSR, mostly men of working age. And after nine months, the birth rate jumped by 8%. Now, according to Rosstat, about 50,000 die every year from alcohol-related causes.
At the same time, the situation with alcoholism and demography in the Vladimir region is no worse than in many regions of Central Russia, Raksha believes. “Historically, young people from the Vladimir region leave for work in Moscow, the old people remain, and there is no one to give birth. Proximity to a metropolis affects mortality and birth rates, the same situation in neighboring regions. As for alcoholism, it is possible that in Vladimir they simply think more honestly and the relevant services work better, ”he explained.
Putin recommended measures to combat alcoholism to Avdeev and other governors, since this problem also has a socio-economic aspect, Alexander Shpunt, professor at the Higher School of Economics and director general of the Institute for Political Analysis Instruments, told URA.RU. “The theme of demography is in the focus of attention of the head of state all the time.
Putin warned the heads of regions against trying to fight the alcoholization of the population by raising prices, since the approach to solving this problem should be comprehensive, Shpunt noted. “High prices do not work without strict control measures, this follows both from Russian practice and from international practice. If the police and district police officers do not strictly control the situation with counterfeit products, then by raising prices, you simply provoke people to buy counterfeit alcoholic beverages, which is fraught with
mass poisoning . This can be observed in Turkey as well as in other countries. In Norway or Finland, which are often cited by supporters of price increases, both police and trade control are well established, with such an approach as a deterrent, high prices work,” the professor concluded.
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