The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization

by Patrick J. Buchanan

In December 2000, however, more ominous news came in. Russia’s birthrate had already plummeted to 1.17 children, below Italy’s. Its population had fallen to 145 million; one estimate had it headed to 123 million by 2015. “If you believe the forecasts made by serious people who have devoted their whole lives to studying this question,” warns President Putin, “in 15 years’ time there will be 22 million fewer Russians. Just think about that figure—it’s a seventh of [Russia‘s] population.”23 A loss of 22 million Russians in fifteen years would be greater than all the Soviet Union’s losses in the Hitler-Stalin war. Putin went on to add ominously, “If the present tendency continues, there will be a threat to the survival of the nation.” Life expectancy for Russian men is now fifty-nine, and two of every three pregnancies in Russia are terminated before birth. Russian women average 2.5 to 4 abortions each, and Russia’s death rate is now 70 percent higher than the birthrate.