A Century of State Murder? : Death and Policy in Twentieth Century Russia

Russia has one of the lowest rates of adult life expectancy in the world. Average life expectancy for a man in America is 74; in Russia, it is just 59. Birth rates and population levels have also plummeted. These excess levels of mortality affect all countries that formed the former Soviet bloc. Running into many millions, they raise obvious comparisons with the earlier period of forced transition under Stalin. This book seeks to put the recent history of the transition into a longer term perspective by identifying, explaining and comparing the pattern of change in Russia in the last century. It offers a sharp challenge to the conventional wisdom and benign interpretations offered in the west of what has happened since 1991. Through a careful survey of the available primary and secondary sources, Mike Haynes and Rumy Husan have produced the first and most complete and accurate account of Russian demographic crisis from the Revolution to the present. 'Combining exhaustive demographic inquiry with incisive social and political analysis, the authors record the successive phases of the trauma that Russia has endured in the 20th century, placing each in its historical context and ideological setting. A vivid and chilling account of some of the most terrible events of modern history.' Noam Chomsky 'The claim that economics and related disciplines are value-free objective sciences is now thoroughly discredited. Yet the need for humane and dispassionate scholarship in these disciplines has never been more needed. Michael Haynes and Rumy Husan have provided just this with their fine volume, A Century of State Murder? By carefully examining the available statistics, their meaning and limitations, and the conventional wisdom about Russia and the USSR of the past 100 years, i.e. before and after the fall of "communism";, they have produced a detailed, balanced and clearly written account of the dreadful history of Russian demography in the regimes of this period. All of them stand condemned, for their arrogance, harshness and ignorance, as do the irresponsible advisors from the West who advocated ill-conceived institutional changes based on mistaken applications of mainstream economic theory to inappropriate situations.' G.C. Harcourt, Jesus College, Cambridge University Contents......Page 4 1 Demography the Social Mirror? ?......Page 14 Lies, damned lies and statistics?......Page 17 Murder most foul?......Page 22 A century of population change in Russia......Page 26 The mirror of society?......Page 30 2 The Revolt Against Class Society 1890 1928......Page 39 Mortality in Tsarist Russia......Page 41 The class pattern of death......Page 47 War and repression......Page 53 Revolution and the vision of the future......Page 58 The waning dream......Page 70 The pressure of accumulation......Page 75 The total number......Page 76 Death and repression......Page 79 The determinants of the normal death rate......Page 86 Wars......Page 90 The end of the Stalin era......Page 97 4 Policy, Inequalities and Death in the USSR 1953 85......Page 103 Judicial death and repression......Page 104 Imperialism and war......Page 107 The pattern of normal death......Page 111 Explaining the patterns of death......Page 118 National variations within the USSR......Page 128 Perestroika and the collapse of the USSR 1985 91......Page 132 Shock therapy reforms of 1992......Page 138 The impact of reforms: low pay, poverty and inequality......Page 147 Mistaken assumptions underlying the reform programme......Page 152 6 Normal Deaths During the First Decade of Transition......Page 157 Unprecedented peacetime mortality......Page 158 Why so many deaths?......Page 163 Key factors of mortality decline......Page 169 Collective violence and intentional deaths......Page 189 Political crisis and civil unrest......Page 192 Death and disease in prisons......Page 194 Torture and state executions......Page 200 The war in Chechnya......Page 204 Class, inequality, and a quiet violence......Page 215 A century of state murder?......Page 219 Appendix: Basic Data on the Prison Camp System under Stalin......Page 227 Notes......Page 229 Bibliography......Page 253 B......Page 268 C......Page 269 E......Page 270 H......Page 271 L......Page 272 N......Page 273 P......Page 274 S......Page 275 T......Page 276 Y......Page 277 Z......Page 278

russia Has One Of The Lowest Rates Of Adult Life Expectancy In The World. Average Life Expectancy For A Man In America Is 74; In Russia, It Is Just 59. Birth Rates And Population Levels Have Also Plummeted. These Excess Levels Of Mortality Affect All Countries That Formed The Former Soviet Bloc. Running Into Many Millions, They Raise Obvious Comparisons With The Earlier Period Of Forced Transition Under Stalin. This Book Seeks To Put The Recent History Of The Transition Into A Longer-term Perspective By Identifying, Explaining And Comparing The Pattern Of Change In Russia In The Last Century. It Offers A Sharp Challenge To The Conventional Wisdom And Benign Interpretations Offered In The West Of What Has Happened Since 1991. Through A Careful Survey Of The Available Primary And Secondary Sources, Mike Haynes And Rumy Husan Have Produced The First And Most Complete And Accurate Account Of Russian Demographic Crisis From The Revolution To The Present.

Russia has one of the lowest rates of adult life expectancy in the world. Average life expectancy for a man in America is 74; in Russia, it is just 59. Birth rates and population levels have also plummeted. These excess levels of mortality affect all countries that formed the former Soviet bloc. Running into many millions, they raise obvious comparisons with the earlier period of forced transition under Stalin. This book seeks to put the recent history of the transition into a longer-term perspective by identifying, explaining and comparing the pattern of change in Russia in the last century. It offers a sharp challenge to the conventional wisdom and benign interpretations offered in the west of what has happened since 1991. Through a careful survey of the available primary and secondary sources, Mike Haynes and Rumy Husan have produced the first and most complete and accurate account of Russian demographic crisis from the Revolution to the present. Demography the social mirror? The revolt against class society 1890-1928 Death and the Stalin era 1929-1953 Death from Khrushchev to Gorbachev 1953-1985 The end of Perestroika and the transition crisis of the 1990s 'Normal' deaths during the first decade of transition Yeltsin, Putin and 'abnormal' deaths 1992-2002 Conclusion Appendix: Basic data on the prison camp system under Stalin.