JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Russia’s grim demographics could thwart Putin’s global ambitions” – Washington Post
“The Russian army’s strangely stumble-footed invasion of Ukraine is only the latest reminder of the pervasive and long-standing ‘human resource’ woes that frustrate … Putin’s aspirations for superpower status. … Russia is depopulating — even after Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, its total numbers are lower today than when the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia’s working-age population and its pool of prospective 18-year-old conscripts are also falling. Shrinking societies can prosper …. Kremlin policies all but preclude that path for Russia. It is not that Russia lacks talented, enterprising, impressive people …. [or] formal education. … The problem is that Russia has somehow managed to create a high-education, low-human-capital society. The syndrome was evident under the Soviets, but it is even more acute under Putin’s malign rule. …”