Page 30 - RusRPTMar19

of nuclear weapons in it. Three-quarters of respondents are convinced that humanity will not survive this cataclysm.
According to Rosstat, Russia’s population was 146.8mn at the end of the year. However, the figure includes the 2.3mn people of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The Russian population shrank by 0.1% last year. There were 1.6mn births and 1.8mn deaths. Russia’s population shrank continuously from the mid-1990s to 2009, when the population began to grow again. 2018 was the first year since 2009 that the Russian population declined. In this decade, population growth has been driven by an increase in immigration and life expectancy. The World Health Organization reports that the current average life expectancy of a Russian woman is 77.2 years and a Russian man 66.4 years. Russia’s birth rate has also declined over the past two years. In 2017, the total fertility rate was 1.62, which is typical also for EU countries and China. At the end of 2018, Rosstat forecasted that Russia’s population will continue to decline slowly. By their projection, the Russian population would be 144mn in 2036. Last year, net immigration was no longer sufficient to make up for the gap between births and deaths. Rosstat says that net immigration was only about 125,000 persons, down from about 210,000 in 2017. Following the established pattern, many immigrants and emigrants are from former Soviet countries. Last year, the largest sources of net immigration to Russia were Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
The Levada Center found in 2018, Russians have become more afraid.
Fear of a world war jumped 17 points in a year to 57%; fear of stronger authoritarian policies rose 19 points in the same period and reached 36% in 2018; fear of lawlessness soared from 29% in 2017 to 51% in 2018; fear of attack by criminals increased 10 points to 39% in 2018.
For many Russians, the answer still lies in the state: another record figure is the number of people (88%) who believe a great state is “very important,” while the percentage of Russians who feel a “strong hand” is always necessary jumped from 40% in 2017 to 58% in 2018.
Five years exactly after the annexation of Crimea, these data are yet another indication that the “Crimean consensus” is over -- a period characterized by bombastic expressions of national pride. But it’s also a good reminder that we still do not know how this brief era will affect Russian national consciousness on the long term, nor what will come next.
More than half of Russians (62%) do not believe that you can conduct honest business in the country, according to the state owned pollster, the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM). To the question “Is it possible today to conduct honest business in Russia, without hiding anything and without deceiving anyone,” 38% answered “rather not,” 24% rejected such a possibility categorically. A positive answer to the question was given by 34% of respondents. In 2017, 41% of respondents believed in the possibility of honest business, 56% experienced doubts. In 2007, these figures were at the level of 21% and 69%, respectively. At the same time, the majority of respondents treat entrepreneurs positively - 89% said so. In 2009, this figure was 79%. At that time, 13% of respondents declared a negative attitude towards businessmen, now - 6%.
30 RUSSIA Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com