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Abstract: In this article, the author examines Russian attitudes and policies toward international adoption and human trafficking-two trends not regularly addressed in discussions of the demographic problems facing Russia. The author argues that differences in the way the two kinds of outflows are treated are not appropriate given their economic and demographic consequences.
Keywords: demographic crisis, human trafficking, international adoption, women in Russia
Russia faces a demographic crisis. With its high mortality rates and low birthrates, the Russian population has been shrinking for more than a decade. This trend is viewed with alarm in Russia for both economic and political reasons. A smaller population means fewer workers and soldiers, and it will likely decrease Russia's power internationally. In the words of Victor Yasmann, a senior regional analyst with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "In the future, Russia, whose land makes up 30 percent of Eurasia, may simply have too few people to control its territory."1 The demographic trends have generated a large body of scholarly work in both Russia and the West examining the two primary factors-births and deaths-that determine the size of the population.2
In this article, I examine another two trends that influence the size of the Russian population and consider their demographic and economic significance: the adoption of Russian children by citizens of other countries and the international trafficking of Russian women. First, I briefly review Russian demographic rhetoric and policy. Next, I examine the trafficking of women from Russia. Finally, I discuss the issues of international adoption and children growing up in state institutions, such as children's homes or boarding schools. Although neither international trafficking nor international adoption occurs on the scale of births and deaths in Russia, they involve those age cohorts with greatest potential for productive and reproductive labor and are therefore worth examining. My findings suggest that although Russian attitudes and policies toward human trafficking and adoption are colored by demographic concerns, government policies generally fail to respond appropriately to the economic causes and consequences of these two phenomena.
Demography
To address Russia's demographic challenges, post-Soviet leaders, like their Soviet predecessors, have tended to focus on the birthrate, introducing policies intended to persuade women to bear more children, but such an approach will almost certainly not be enough...