Russian estimates suggest that the total population of the Soviet Union in 1941 was 195.4 million people, before it fell to 170.5 million in 1946 due to the devastation of the Second World War. Not only did the USSR's population fall as a consequence of the war, but fertility and birth rates also dropped due to the disruption. Hypothetical estimates suggest that, had the war not happened and had fertility rates remained on their pre-war trajectory, then the USSR's population in 1946 would have been 39 million higher than in reality. Gender differences When it comes to gender differences, the Soviet male population fell from 94 million in 1941, to 74 million in 1946, and the female population fell from 102 to 96 million. While the male and female population fell by 19 and 5.5 million respectively, hypothetical estimates suggest that both populations would have grown by seven million each had there been no war. In actual figures, adult males saw the largest change in population due to the war, as a drop of 18 to 21 percent was observed across the three age groups. In contrast, the adult female population actually grew between 1941 and 1946, although the population under 16 years fell by a number similar to that observed in the male population due to the war's impact on fertility.

Throughout the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union had relatively similar total populations. The U.S.' population grew from around 205 million to almost 250 million people between 1970 and 1990, while the USSR's population grew from around 240 to 290 million in this time. In these years, the Soviet Union had the third largest population in the world, and the U.S. had the fourth largest (behind China and India respectively). Despite their similar sizes, these populations differed in terms of distribution as the U.S.' population was approximately three quarters urban in this period, whereas the Soviet Union's urban population was just 56 percent in 1970 and 66 percent in 1989. Additionally, the Soviet Union's population was much younger than that of the U.S. due to a higher birth rate and lower life expectancy.

Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, Russians were consistently the largest ethnic group in the USSR. Of a total population of 262 million people in 1979, the share who were Russian was over 137 million, which is equal to roughly 52 percent. In 1989, the total population of the Soviet Union was almost 286 million, with the ethnic Russian population at 145 million, or 51 percent. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Tatars were the only of the ten largest ethnic groups not to be given their own independent country, with Tatarstan instead becoming one of Russia's federal republics.

Due to the devastating impact of the Second World War on the Soviet population, the total population in 1950 was almost 15.5 million fewer than in 1940, which is a decrease of eight percent. In Russia (RSFSR), the largest of the Soviet states, the population difference was almost nine million people; also eight percent. It would take until 1955 for the populations of either the USSR or Russia to reach their pre-war levels, which was a decade after the conflict had ended. Urbanization Despite this drop in total population, industrialization and urbanization saw a significant change in the USSR's population distribution between the given years. The Soviet urban population increased by 6.3 million, or ten percent, between 1940 and 1950; 5.8 million of this was in Russia, which was a 15 percent increase. In contrast, the Soviet Union's rural population dropped by 21.8 million (a 17 percent change), 14.5 million of which in Russia (a decrease of 20 percent). In terms of overall population, the urban population of the USSR rose from 33 to 39 percent between 1940 and 1950, and from 34 to 43 percent in Russia. By 1955, 44 percent of the Soviet population, and 49 percent of the Russian population, lived in an urban setting.

In Soviet Russia (RSFSR) in 1939 and 1959, ethnic Russians made up the largest share of the total population, with a share of approximately 83 percent. Tatars were the second largest ethnic group, followed by Ukrainians. Russians were consistently the largest ethnic group in the Soviet Union as a whole, with an overall share of 53 percent in 1979.

Over the course of the Second World War, approximately 44.5 percent of the Soviet population and 8.7 of Soviet territory was occupied by the Axis forces at some point. Despite being allied in the war's early stages, with both countries invading Poland in 1939 via the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Germany would launch Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR, in 1941, which would become the largest military invasion in history. Movement of the Eastern Front The surprise invasion began on June 22, and Axis forces caught the Soviets off-guard, quickly pushing their way eastward along a frontline that stretched from the Baltic to Black seas. The length of the front-line allowed Axis forces to execute pincer movements around cities and strongholds, which cut off large numbers of Soviet soldiers from their supply lines, as well as preventing reinforcements; in this process millions of Soviet troops were taken as prisoner. Within three weeks, the Germans had taken much of present-day Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic states, before taking Moldova and Ukraine in September, and pushing into western Russia between September and December. The front lines had reached the outskirts of Moscow by November, before exhaustion and cold weather helped Soviet forces hold the line and stall the German offensive. The Red Army was then able to regroup and turning the Germans' own tactics against them, using two-pronged attacks to encircle large numbers of troops, although harsh weather made this stage of the conflict much slower.

The lines remained fairly static until mid-1942, when the Germans focused their offensive on the south, concentrating on the Caucasian oil fields and the Volga River. By November 1942, Axis forces had pushed into these regions, establishing what would ultimately be the largest amount of occupied Soviet territory during the war. Once again, winter halted the Axis advance, and allowed the Red Army to regroup. Learning from the previous year, the Axis command strengthened their forces near Moscow in anticipation of the Soviet counter-offensive, but were caught off-guard by a second counter-offensive in the south, most famously at Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad would come to epitomize the extreme loss, destruction, and brutality of war on the eastern front, with conflict continuing in the city months after the rest of the Axis forces had been pushed west. As 1943 progressed, the Red Army gained momentum by targeting inferiorly-trained and equipped non-German regiments. The spring then became something of a balancing act for the Axis powers, as the Soviets consistently attacked weak points, and German regiments were transferred to reinforce these areas. In the summer of 1943, the front line was static once more, however the momentum was with the Soviets, who were able to capitalize on victories such as Kursk and gradually force the Axis powers back. By 1944, the Red Army had re-captured much of Ukraine, and had re-taken the south by the summer. When the Western Allies arrived in France in June, the Soviets were already pushing through Ukraine and Belarus, towards Berlin. In August 1944, the last Axis forces were pushed out of Soviet territory, and Soviet forces continued their push towards the German capital, which fell in May 1945. Soviet death toll In addition to the near-five million Soviet troops who died during Operation Barbarossa, millions of civilians died through starvation, areal bombardment, forced labor, and systematic murder campaigns. Due to the nature and severity of Soviet losses, total figures are difficult to estimate; totals of 15-20 million civilians and 7-9 million military deaths are most common. Further estimates suggest that the disruption to fertility, in addition to the high death toll, meant that the USSR's population in 1946 was 40 million lower than it would have been had there been no war.

Die Sowjet – Zählung von 1989 (Erhebung: 12. - 19. Januar 1989) war die letzte und auch kompletteste Zählung in der früheren UDSSR. Die folgende Version der Ergebnisse ist eine Zusammenfassung der Daten in Form von Excel – Tabellen, geordnet nach den zwölf Themenschwerpunkten der Originalversion, die als publizierte Original - Edition seit 1992 vorliegt. “The present publication is the CD-ROM version of the results of the 1989 USSR Population Census. As such, it contains the entire contents of the printed (microfiche) edition of this publication, which was first published in the latter half of 1992. The major change has been to transform all the data in the printed (microfiche) edition into a set of tables, or files. The CD-ROM edition presents the data in twelve subject areas, corresponding to each of the twelve original volumes in the printed (microfiche) edition. Each of the general subject areas is subdivided into a number of specific subjects, which in turn correspond to a unique table in the printed (microfiche) edition. Statistical and demographic data on general subject areas: Vol. 1 Statistical and demographic data on; Vol. 2 Population Size and Distribution; Vol. 3 Age and Marital Status; Vol. 4 Family/Household Size and Structure; Vol. 5 Number of Children born; Vol. 6 Housing Conditions; Vol. 7 Education Level; Vol. 8 Nationality Composition; Vol. 8 Means of Livelihood; Vol. 9 Social Composition; Vol. 10 Employment by Economic Sector; Vol. 11 Occupations; Vol. 12 Migration. The data may also be approached from the point of view of geographic unit. Geographic units are: Russia; Ukraine; Belarus; Moldova; Uzbekistan; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Takikistan; Turkmenistan; Georgia; Azerbaijan; Armenia; Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania. Finally, the 1989 USSR Population Census data may also be approached from the point of view of nationality. Nationalities: approximately 130 nationalities” (East View (ed.), 1996: The 1989 USSR CENSUS. Minneapolis).

The Second World War had a profound impact on gender ratios within the Soviet Union's population, and its effect on different age groups varied greatly. The Soviet population structure had already been shaped heavily by the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the famines of the early 1920s and early 1930s. The impact of these events on mortality and fertility meant that, in 1941, the generations whose births corresponded with these events had a lower population than would be expected on a typical population model. For example, in 1941, those aged between 5 and 9 had a significantly lower population than those aged 10 to 14, due to the effects of the Soviet famine of 1932-1933. Additionally, women outnumbered men in all age groups except the very youngest, due to the disproportionate effect of conflict and infant mortality on male populations. Impact of WWII In order to observe the impact of the war, one must compare populations of specific age groups in 1941 with the following age group in 1946. For men of "fighting age" in 1941, i.e. those aged between 15 and 44, these populations experience the most substantial decrease over the course of the war. For example, there are 5.6 million men aged 15-19 in 1941, but just 3.5 million aged 20-24 in 1946, giving a decrease of 38 percent. This decrease of almost forty percent can be observed until the 45-49 group, where the difference is 25 percent. Additionally, women aged between 15 and 34 saw a disproportionate decrease in their populations over this period, as many enlisted in the army and took an active part in the conflict, most notably as medics, snipers, and pilots.

The war's impact on fertility and child mortality meant that, in 1946, the total population under four years old was less than half its size in 1941. Generally, variations between age groups then fluctuated in line with pre-war patterns, however the overall ratio of women to men increased further after the war. For all age groups over 20 years, the number of men decreased between these years, whereas all women's age groups over 30 years saw an increase; this meant that, despite the war, women over 30 had a higher life expectancy in 1946.

In 1970, over 29 percent of the Soviet population were under the age of 15, however this figure fell below 25 percent in the subsequent decade. This was offset by the 15-24 age group making up a larger share of the population in 1980, due to the cyclical nature of baby booms and higher birth rates when certain generations reach childbearing age.

The Soviet population structure was also greatly affected by the Second World War. The long-term impact meant that the age groups between 35 and 54 in 1970, i.e. those who were teens and young adults in the 1940s, made up a lower proportion of the population compared to traditional age distribution models. This was due to the heavy death toll experienced during the war, particularly among males.

The geographic information system (GIS) is based on the first and only Russian Imperial Census of 1897 and the First All-Union Census of the Soviet Union of 1926. The GIS features vector data (shapefiles) of allprovinces of the two states. For the 1897 census, there is information about linguistic, religious, and social estate groups. The part based on the 1926 census features nationality. Both shapefiles include information on gender, rural and urban population. The GIS allows for producing any necessary maps for individual studies of the period which require the administrative boundaries and demographic information.

Throughout the later decades of the Soviet Union, there was a consistent imbalance in the ratio of men to women. This was not only due to the legacy of the Second World War (during which time the Soviet Union lost up to 27 million people, the majority of which were men), but also due to a much lower life expectancy among men in the Soviet Union in later years. This disparity has been attributed to high rates of alcoholism and accidental deaths, which was exacerbated by economic difficulties in the final decades of the 20th century. In 1970, there were almost 20 million more women in the USSR than men, with each gender making up 54 and 46 percent of the population respectively. Natural births gradually offset the population imbalance created by the war (as the natural gender ratio at birth is generally 105 boys for every 100 girls born), and men made up over 47 percent of the population in 1989, however the gender imbalance and lower life expectancy among males remains a persistent problem across Russia and other former-Soviet states to this day.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

Using representative surveys of the entire population, this research project analysed the similarities and differences between Soviet and Russian household behaviour in the informal economy during 1996-1999. The research was based primarily on unpublished archive material - Soviet family budget surveys - for the Soviet period, and regular Russian household/ adult surveys for the post-Soviet period. In particular, the project estimated and compared the size, dynamics and determinants of household behaviour in the informal economy in the two periods, and also assessed the impact of household informal economy activities on the Soviet or current Russian economy.
The continuous Soviet annual family budget survey (FBS), covering the entire population of the USSR was conducted from the early 1950s onwards under the auspices of the Soviet Central Statistical Administration. Comprehensive and detailed summary results of annual data from the family budget surveys of Soviet households aggregated by types of heads of households such as workers and state employees and collective farm workers are kept in three Russian archives. This dataset was created using some of the results from the FBS.
Main Topics:

Data are aggregated by types of heads of households (or social classes in Russian terminology), and include 35 income variables, 62 expenditure-related variables and nine savings-related variables. Each variable on the income side shows the sources of income (the state, collective farms, and other people) and each variable on the expenditure side shows to whom payment was made (the state sector, collective farms, or other people). In total, eight data files have been created:
Russian workers and state employees' families (1969-1990),
Russian collective farm ('kolkhoz') workers' families (1969-1990),
Russian pure pensioners' families who retired from jobs relating to workers and state employees (1977-1990),
Russian pure pensioners' families who retired from jobs relating to collective farms (1977-1990),
Russian state farms ('sovkhoz') workers' families (1977-1990),
Average family in the Soviet Union as a whole (1979-1990),
Soviet workers and state employees' families (1969-1990),
Soviet collective farm workers' families (1969-1990).

Political attitudes of Soviet citizens. Questions on French-Soviet relations. Topics: judgement on selected government measures in connection with the 27th party convention of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; attitude to ´Perestroika´; expected influence of ´Perestroika´ on increase in food prices; perception of drug addiction as a danger to the country; judgement on quality of television programs; knowledge about Sacharow; satisfaction with the achievements of the public health system; most significant historical and modern-day personality of the Soviet Union; attitude to the death penalty; expected influence of changes taking place in the USSR on the relationship to the West and the international situation; preferred type of music; assessment of the probability of another accident in a Soviet nuclear power plant as well as of the efforts of the Soviet Government to prevent further nuclear accidents; judgement on relations of the USSR to the USA, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, China and India; satisfaction with the status of the relations between the USSR and France and judgement on changes in these relations in the last year; judgement on economic, cultural and political cooperation between the USSR and France; area with the greatest progress in cooperation; spontaneous naming of three French words; naming preferred representatives of France; knowledge of selected events from French-Soviet history; country with the closest friendship to France; positive or negative judgement on the French people; spontaneous naming of persons associated with France; knowledge about the nationality of the space ship of the first flight of a French Cosmonaut; perceived threat to the Soviet Union or France from nuclear weapons as well as conventional, non-nuclear weapons of the respective other country; knowledge about the French language; use of French-language media and type of media used; judgement on the objectivity of information from French sources or Soviet media; perceived intervention of France in internal matters of the USSR; attitude to nuclear weapons as well as a nuclear or conventional conflict in Europe, an increase and modernization of the French nuclear arsenal, first use of nuclear weapons by the USSR or France as well as peaceful solution of European problems and contribution of abstaining from nuclear weapon tests to the reduction in the arms race; knowledge about the Berlin Wall as well as attitude to removal of the wall; attitude to removal of all nuclear weapons in Europe; preferred area of a pan-European cooperation; judgement on the military balance of powers between NATO and the Warsaw Pact; preferred travel countries outside of the East Bloc; probability of outbreak of a third world war; desire for a meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan as well as judgement on the chances for success of negotiations; perceived danger from a simultaneous reduction in Soviet and American medium-range missiles; judgement on progress in the area of military technology regarding greater security or additional danger of war; most important friend and greatest enemy of the Soviet Union. Demography: age (classified); sex; marital status; respondent has children; current education level; employment; institution at which respondent is studying (e.g. college, technical college, vocational technical school); occupational position; earlier participation in surveys; optimistic or pessimistic future expectations. Politische Einstellungen von Sowjet-Bürgern. Fragen zu den französisch-sowjetischen Beziehungen. Themen: Beurteilung ausgewählter Regierungsmaßnahmen im Anschluß an den 27. Parteitag der KPdSU; Einstellung zur "Perestroika"; vermuteter Einfluß der "Perestroika" auf die Erhöhung der Lebensmittelpreise; Wahrnehmung der Drogensucht als Gefahr für das Land; Beurteilung der Qualität der Fernsehprogramme; Kenntnisse über Sacharow; Zufriedenheit mit den Leistungen des Gesundheitswesens; bedeutendste historische und heutige Persönlichkeit der Sowjetunion; Einstellung zur Todesstrafe; vermuteter Einfluß der sich in der UdSSR vollziehenden Veränderungen auf das Verhältnis zum Westen und die internationale Lage; präferierte Musikrichtung; Einschätzung der Wahrscheinlichkeit eines erneuten Unfalls in einem sowjetischen Atomkraftwerk sowie der Bemühungen der Sowjetregierung zur Verhinderung weiterer Atomunfälle; Beurteilung der Beziehungen der UdSSR zu den USA, Frankreich, der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Großbritannien, China und Indien; Zufriedenheit mit dem Stand der Beziehungen zwischen der UdSSR und Frankreich und Beurteilung der Veränderungen in diesen Beziehungen im letzten Jahr; Beurteilung der wirtschaftlichen, kulturellen und politischen Zusammenarbeit zwischen der UdSSR und Frankreich; Bereich mit der fortgeschrittensten Zusammenarbeit; spontane Nennung von drei französischen Wörtern; Nennung von präferierten Repräsentanten Frankreichs; Kenntnis ausgewählter Ereignisse aus der französisch-sowjetischen Geschichte; Land mit der engsten Freundschaft zu Frankreich; positive oder negative Beurteilung des französischen Volkes; spontane Nennung von Personen, die mit Frankreich assoziiert werden; Kenntnis der Nationalität des Raumschiffes beim ersten Flug eines französischen Kosmonauten; empfundene Bedrohung der Sowjetunion bzw. Frankreichs durch die Atomwaffen sowie die konventionellen, nicht-atomaren Waffen des jeweils anderen Landes; Kenntnis der französischen Sprache; Nutzung französischsprachiger Medien und Art der genutzten Medien; Beurteilung der Objektivität der Informationen aus französischen Quellen bzw. aus sowjetischen Medien; empfundene Einmischung Frankreichs in die inneren Angelegenheiten der UdSSR; Einstellung zu Atomwaffen sowie einem atomaren bzw. konventionellen Konflikt in Europa, einer Aufstockung und Modernisierung des französischen Atomarsenals, dem Ersteinsatz von Kernwaffen durch die UdSSR bzw. Frankreich sowie zur friedlichen Lösung europäischer Probleme und zum Beitrag des Verzichts von Kernwaffentests auf die Abschwächung des Wettrüstens; Kenntnis der Berliner Mauer sowie Einstellung zu einer Beseitigung der Mauer; Einstellung zur Beseitigung aller Kernwaffen in Europa; präferierter Bereich einer gesamteuropäischen Zusammenarbeit; Beurteilung des militärischen Kräfteverhältnisses zwischen der NATO und dem Warschauer Pakt; präferierte Reiseländer außerhalb des Ostblocks; Wahrscheinlichkeit des Ausbruchs eines Dritten Weltkriegs; Wunsch nach einem Treffen zwischen Gorbatschow und Reagan sowie Beurteilung der Erfolgschancen von Verhandlungen; wahrgenommene Gefahr durch einen gleichzeitigen Abbau sowjetischer und amerikanischer Mittelstreckenraketen; Beurteilung der Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der Militärtechnik hinsichtlich größerer Sicherheit oder zusätzlicher Kriegsgefahr; wichtigster Freund und größter Feind der Sowjetunion. Demographie: Alter (klassiert); Geschlecht; Familienstand; Befragter hat Kinder; gegenwärtiger Bildungsstand; Erwerbstätigkeit; Institution, an der der Befragte lernt (z.B. Hochschule, Technikum, berufstechnische Schule); berufliche Position; frühere Teilnahme an Befragungen; optimistische oder pessimistische Zukunftserwartungen. Random selection. In Moscow they were obtained from telephone lists and in Indjavino from the voter list.

Representative samples of populations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This is our follow-up survey (from 2014) in the three Baltic countries but without additional sampling of their respective Russian speaking minorities. Special focus is on the handling of the covid pandemic in the Baltic countries, but the survey also covers attitudes towards the EU, migration, democracy, and Russia against the backdrop of its aggression in Ukraine. Representativa urval av befolkningen i Estland, Lettland och Litauen. Detta är vår uppföljande undersökning (från 2014) i de tre baltiska länderna, men denna gång utan ytterligare urval från de rysktalande minoriteterna i respektive land. Särskilt fokus ligger på hanteringen av covid-pandemin i de baltiska länderna, men undersökningen omfattar även attityder till EU, migration, demokrati samt Ryssland mot bakgrund av landets aggression i Ukraina.

In 1979, over 52 percent of the Soviet Union's total population was comprised of ethnic Russians. Ukrainians made up the second largest ethnic group, at 16 percent. No other ethnic group or nationality made up more than five percent of the USSR's total population.

In 1989, ethnic Russians made up slightly more than half of the Soviet Union's total population, at around 51 percent overall. When compared with 1979, there was a slight decrease in the share of ethnicities in European and western regions, whereas there was a slight increase in the share of ethnicities concentrated in the Caucuses and Central Asia.

This data set consists of roads, drainage, railroads, utilities, and population center information in readily usable vector format for the land area of the Former Soviet Union. The purpose of this dataset was to create a completely intact vector layer which could be readily used to aid in mapping efforts for the area of the FSU. These five vector data layers were assembled from the Digital Chart of the World (DCW), 1993. Individual record attributes were stored for population centers only. Vector maps for the FSU are in ArcView shapefile format.

Judgement on American and Soviet foreign policy as well as the competition between the great powers.

Topics: Most important domestic and foreign policy problems; perceived changes in the relations between the great powers; attitude to selected countries and politicians; preferred East-West orientation of one´s own country; the peace efforts of China; danger of war; assessment of the credibility of the foreign policy of the USSR and the western powers as well as the seriousness of the disarmament efforts of the great powers; principle agreement of one´s own country with the interests of the USA, the USSR, Great Britain, France and China; expected development of agreement between the USSR and China; expected development of the economic and military competition between the great powers; contribution of NATO to European security; NATO contribution of one´s own country; trust in NATO; judgement on the result of the Paris summit conference and assessment of the readiness of the participants to make concessions; attitude to concessions by the western powers in the Berlin question; comparison of current status and future development of science, the military, the standard of living, industrial and agricultural production, welfare, technology, medicine and space flight in the USA and the USSR; assessment of the steadfastness of the American as well as Soviet population in the respective basic ideas and assessment of the readiness of the peoples to make an effort for this conviction; judgement on the prospects for the future of the two economic systems; frequency of watching television in the evening hours; TV possession; number of adults watching television in the afternoon as well as in the evening; going to the movies; assessment of the influence of foreign films on one´s own country; impression of Americans (tourists, students, business people, musicians, politicians) who have been in one´s country; assessment of the influence of American magazines, books, films, television programs, the Voice of America and Jazz on one´s own country; attitude to stationing of American troops in the country and judgement on their conduct; most important sources of information about the USA; perceived differences between American and British broadcast of news and information; most trustworthy source of news; attitude to construction of nuclear weapons by France and the atomic bomb test in the Sahara; the significance of the visit by Khruschev in France for world peace.

The following questions were posed except in Great Britain: media usage in form of a detailed recording of the frequency of listening to foreign radio stations (BBC, BFN, AFN) as well as the Voice of America; self-assessment of knowledge of English and judgement on the understandability of radio announcers; union membership; length of interview.

The following questions were posed in France: possession of a motor vehicle; possession of a radio; house ownership.

The following questions were posed in Germany: number of contact attempts; willingness of respondent to cooperate.

The following questions were posed in Italy: place of interview; day of interview.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Vladivostok, Russia metro area from 1950 to 2025. United Nations population projections are also included through the year 2035.

As of January 1, 2025, more than 146 million people were estimated to be residing on the Russian territory, down approximately 30,000 from the previous year. From the second half of the 20th century, the population steadily grew until 1995. Furthermore, the population size saw an increase from 2009, getting closer to the 1995 figures. In which regions do most Russians live? With some parts of Russia known for their harsh climate, most people choose regions which offer more comfortable conditions. The largest share of the Russian population, or 40 million, reside in the Central Federal District. Moscow, the capital, is particularly populated, counting nearly 13 million residents. Russia’s population projections Despite having the largest country area worldwide, Russia’s population was predicted to follow a negative trend under both low and medium expectation forecasts. Under the low expectation forecast, the country’s population was expected to drop from 146 million in 2022 to 134 million in 2036. The medium expectation scenario projected a milder drop to 143 million in 2036. The issues of low birth rates and high death rates in Russia are aggravated by the increasing desire to emigrate among young people. In 2023, more than 20 percent of the residents aged 18 to 24 years expressed their willingness to leave Russia.