ABSTRACT
After 1985, enormous fluctuations in mortality were recorded in Russia, From 1985 to 1987, life expectancy at birth sharply increased but took an unprecedented plunge from 1992 to 1994. This chapter focuses on the significant mortality decline of 1995–1996 and on the dramatic structural distinctions of mortality processes in Russia as compared to those in the West. In the majority of age groups, relative changes in categories are negative, testifying to a general mortality decline. The rate of infant mortality appears to be more favorable compared to other age groups. Even during the short-term increase in 1993, it was lower than in 1984. In 1994, infant mortality resumed its downward trend. In the majority of age groups, relative changes in categories are negative, testifying to a general mortality decline. The changes in mortality curves for both men and women indicate a return to 1989–1991 levels—the period prior to sudden and abrupt rise of mortality.
