The Collapse of Russia

In its latest short internet documentary, the Population Research Institute (PRI) pays a visit to Russia, to discuss the country's plummeting birthrates and skyrocketing death rates.

This fast-paced, 12-minute documentary represents a new direction for PRI's video efforts, says PRI's media director Colin Mason.

“We're trying to find a more immediate approach to introducing people to these issues,” Mason explains. “While the facts and numbers are obviously important, we have found that it's much more effective to get boots on the ground and actually discuss these topics head-on with the affected people. We think that this approach really makes the problems real to our audience.”

PRI's president Steven W. Mosher, who appears prominently in the documentary, agrees, saying that Russia is “demographically crumbling,” and that PRI's latest video does an excellent job of illustrating the human cost of this.

“If Russia doesn't turn its birthrate around fast,” says Mosher, “its human landscape will soon resemble the crumbling Soviet monuments that we visited. It is imperative for the survival of the Russian people that they once again take command of their fertility and begin renewing themselves. Only then will they be able to turn their economy and their culture around.”