Demography in Russia

The post-Soviet era is marked by dire demographic trends. Rapid and wide scale increases in mortality and marked declines in already low fertility and marriage rates generated negative natural rates of increase throughout the 1990s. Population decline was avoided only due to substantial immigration from other successor states during the period. This period has been identified as the most dramatic peacetime demographic collapse ever observed. Aspects of the crisis are linked to long-term processes begun in the Soviet period, but were significantly exacerbated by economic and institutional instability of the later period.

Increasing male mortality, especially among older working-aged males, gained momentum during the 1990s. Estimates vary, but official estimates reported a six-year decline in male life expectancy between 1985 and 1995. Female life expectancy also declined, however more modestly. Deaths from lung cancer, accidents, suicide, poisoning, and other causes related to alcohol consumption underpin the change in mortality, but death rates for heart disease and cancer also increased. Period explanations focus on the stress generated by the economic transition, linking that stress to the mortality increase. During the 1990s financial crisis lead to serious shortages of medical supplies, wage arrears in the governmental health sector, and the rise of private pay clinics and pharmacies. Increased poverty rates, especially among the growing pension aged population, precluded health care access. Public works (hospitals, prisons, etc.) were poorly maintained during the late Soviet era, and contributed to the resurgence of old health risks such as cholera, typhus, and drug resistant forms of tuberculosis during the 1990s. The reemergence of infectious disease shocked demographers and epidemiologists, who previously contended improvements in mortality were permanent, and that deaths infectious diseases were a unique characteristic of undeveloped societies. The resurgence of infectious diseases includes HIV/AIDS. The numbers of infected were low, but in 2003 HIV infection rates were projected to increase in the near future. Russia's post-Soviet demographic crisis generated concerns over declining population size, especially in the Far East where border security is a concern. Immigration helped maintain population size without shifting the ethnic composition, but anti-immigrant sentiments were strong during the late 1990s. In 2002 government attention had turned to below replacement fertility, but as in the rest of Europe the fertility rate remained very low.

1 . What are the contemporary demographic concerns?

2. What was the reason of the baby boom in the USA in 1948?

3. Why the America’s population will continue to grow older?

4. Compare immigration in the USA and Russia?

5. What were the causes of the high mortality rate in Russia in 1900s?

a) Translate the following words and phrases from English into Russian

Density; vital statistics; birthrate; death rate; immigrants and emigrants; refugee; dire; mortality; substantial immigration; exacerbated; life expectancy; alcohol consumption; to underpin; shortage; wage arrear; to preclude; resurgence; reemergence of disease; to generate; fertility.

b) Insert the missing prepositions if necessary

1. With reference …………… our researchers, we have complete confidence in their honesty.

2. This document accounts …………... 90 percent of reported pollution.

3. An increase in the price of drugs has contributed ………….. the rising cost of medical care.

4. Japanese people, ………….. average, live longer than Europeans.

5. Pay attention to the symptoms that precede ………….. disease.

6. A new report says deaths …………… lung cancer are declining.

7. These three scientific discoveries have underpinned …………… modern theory.

c) Complete the text by choosing a word from the table

Poverty asylum human rights exploitation refugee aid

1. The government was accused of failing to observe basic ……………, and was taken to the European Court.

2. Many families live in extreme ……………, with barely enough money to feed and clothe themselves.

3. International …………… organisations such as Oxfam and UNICEF often have to work in extreme adverse conditions.

4. After years of persecution in their own country, the family asked for political ……………from the Bakavian government.

5. Many foreign workers in Britain are victims of …………… in the workplace, receiving wages far below those of their British counterparts.

6. Britain has traditionally been a safe haven for political ………….. .

d)* Put the following words into the correct column in accordance with the prefix of forming antonyms

Substantial Legally Developed Related Official Significantly Believable

In-	Ill-	Un-

Compose a presentation about «Food for the Hungry» organization. You can use the website address given below to get more information.

http://www.fh.org/

Your presentation should include the following points:

• The history of the of the organization

• Aims of the organization

• Spheres of work

• Countries and cities where the organization operates

• How can we make an impact?

• Would do you like to become a member of the organization? How would you like to help people?

Warm-up

Global language; globalization; a major challenge; a global crisis; to regulate; subject to consideration (criticism); to prove; foreseeable future; take a broad view; to use randomly; to be heavily involved; to correlate with; coincide; extend beyond; to solve a problem; native/first/second language; mother tongue; world trends; irreversible process; irretrievable losses

1 . Can you give a definition of a world

language?

2. Do you think the world language can

be important for science? How?

3. What are the advantages and

disadvantages of existence of world language?

4. What language can be considered to be a world

language nowadays?

A world language is a language spoken internationally, which is learned by many people as a second language. A world language is not only characterized by the number of its speakers (native or second language speakers), but also by its geographical distribution, and its use in international organizations and in diplomatic relations.

Read short statements and situations given below and discuss them in pairs or in small groups

a) Existence of a world language can lead to gradual extinction of other languages. People want to have a common language for not to learn other languages. It’s easier to learn one and use it throughout the world.

Answer the questions

1. Do you think it is possible for one language to substitute others? Prove your point of view?

2. Why do you think people have invented the world language?

3. Will other languages come to rival English in their global importance, pushing English aside?

b) The world will eventually speak English and this will facilitate the cultural and economic dominance of English native-speaking countries, especially the USA. Even now there are some countries adopting English as a second or the first language, through which they can express their own values and identities.

Answer the questions

1. Do you really think that speaking English shows dominance of one country over others?

2. Do you think world language influence Russian language?

3. Do you think that some English words can substitute Russian words? Do you such examples?

c) English is considered to be the global language. A world language aids in communication and in pooling information (for example, in the scientific community). Scientists and researchers can freely cooperate with their companions from other countries. Most of the best books in science and mathematics are available in English. So, being familiar with English, definitely will help you in learning Science. The problem of language barrier is solved!

Answer the questions

1. Do you think existence of a world language can really help scientists with their discoveries and breakthroughs?

2. Do you think that if you know the global language you will be successful in your sphere? Why?

3. Why do you learn English?

Study the diagram of spread of English made by Braj Kachru, Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences. According to this scientist, spread of language can be divided into 3 circles.

The Inner Circle comprises the traditional bases of English, dominated by the mother-tongue varieties, that is, where English is the primary language of a substantial, often monolingual, majority. Countries in the Inner Circle include the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The Outer Circle is primarily made up of countries where English has a colonial history, and where the language has developed institutionalized functions. Most of the countries placed in the Outer Circle are former colonies of the UK or the USA, such as Malaysia, Singapore, India, Ghana, Kenya and others.

Finally, the Expanding Circle includes the rest of the world, where performance varieties of the language are usually used, essentially in restricted contexts. In general, English plays a role here as a foreign language for international communication and for specific purposes as in the reading of scientific and technical materials. Countries in the Expanding Circle include China, Egypt, etc.

Answer the questions

1. What circle dо you think Russia belong to?

2. What do you think about possible disadvantages of this theory? For example, what circle bilingual speakers should belong to?

3. What other scientific points of view of spread of English do you know?

What do you think what spheres of social life and science are in English now?