Russia Appears To Be Hiding Its Death Figures
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The Russian government has stopped reporting the number of deaths in Russia as the Kremlin is likely keen to conceal Russia's losses from the war in Ukraine, a report says.
Rosstat, Russia's state statistics agency, did not report key demographic data in its report for the first five months of 2025, according to independent outlet Meduza.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a think tank in Washington, D.C., said in a July 6 update that the Russian government wanted to conceal population data to hide growing demographic problems and high losses in Ukraine. Newsweek has contacted Rosstat for comment.
The grave of Dmitry Utkin, a military commander of the private mercenary group Wagner, at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery in Moscow, on August 31, 2023.
The grave of Dmitry Utkin, a military commander of the private mercenary group Wagner, at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery in Moscow, on August 31, 2023.Why It Matters
Even before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia was facing significant demographic challenges amid a plummeting birth rate. These have increased since February 2022 because of huge casualties and the exodus of Russians fleeing the draft, exacerbating a labor shortage that has fueled inflation in the sanctions-hit economy.
Reports that Rosstat is trying to hide population data highlight the sensitivity for the Kremlin of the demographic crisis that Russia faces and the instability it may cause.
What To Know
Meduza reported on Saturday that Rosstat's "Socioeconomic Situation in Russia" report published on July 2 did not include demographic data between January and May this year.
Electoral statistics researcher Dmitry Kobak said the agency had refused his request for figures from 2024 about male excess mortality and deaths per month, the outlet reported.
In May, independent Russian demographer Alexey Raksha wrote on his Telegram channel that Rosstat had ceased publishing detailed population data and omitted figures for births and deaths and monthly data on marriages and divorces.
Raksha, whom Russian authorities have declared a foreign agent, reported an absence of demographic statistics since March, adding that Russia may be having its lowest birth rates since the late 18th century.
The omission of demographic data in Rosstat's reports is also likely an attempt to conceal the high military losses in Ukraine.
As of Monday, Russia had suffered personnel losses of 1,027,540, according to Ukraine's military, a figure that includes those killed and injured.
Ukraine's figures are difficult to independently verify, but they are frequently cited by Western officials. The British government said in April that Russia's likely total casualty count since February 2022 was 920,000.
Meduza reported that as early as July 2024, Rosstat had begun to restrict death statistics from external causes, which independent journalists had used to calculate the number of Russians killed in the war.
What People Are Saying
Institute for the Study of War reported on Sunday: "Rosstat is concealing population data in an attempt to obfuscate Russia's ongoing demographic problems, and the omission ... likely also aims to obscure the Russian military's high personnel loss rates."
Russian demographer Alexey Raksha wrote on Telegram in May: "March (2025) set a record low for the average daily number of births in the Russian Federation."
Branislav Slantchev, a professor of political science at the University of California, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "The Kremlin is desperate to hide two things: the fact that Russia has lost over a quarter of a million soldiers killed in Ukraine, and the fact that the Russians have an abysmal birth rate that is about to crush them over the coming decades."
What Happens Next
The Kremlin has prioritized addressing Russia's demographic decline, announcing in December a "Strategy of Action" to provide financial incentives for people to have more children in the next five years and plans to ban "childfree ideology."
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