Variable Scales of Avoidable Mortality Within the Russian Population

Socio-political changes over the past 30 years have led to important changes in the mortality of the Russian population. The largest variations were observed in death rates due to preventable causes, which depend on the conditions and way of life of the population as well as on the quality of health care. We show that now that mortality rates are declining, government measures to protect public health are more important for improving the demographic situation than efforts to increase the income of the population. Expenditure on the protection of public health is greatest in regions with a high level of economic development, but they do not necessarily lead to the reduction of mortality from preventable causes. Avoidable mortality depends not only on the level of poverty in a region, but also on other factors: climate, the economic way of life, the level of property stratification of the population and the intensity of regional economic development. The analysis of the heterogeneity of avoidable mortality in Russia is of interest not only for Russian researchers. Data on mortality in Russia may be used as a testing ground for studying the various factors that influence mortality. The wide range of changes in mortality on different scales permits us to analyze trends which are weaker and less noticeable in countries with a smaller population.