By comparison, Mexico, with a population approximately 10 percent smaller, recorded some 1.7 million more births than deaths in 2015. Valentin Kurbatov, a specialist in village prose, moved to the Pskov region in northwest Russia in 1964. Both events curbed population growth, foreshadowing the devastating impact of World War II, when Russia lost some 20 million people. Closing hospitals pushes people to leave even faster than closing schools, he said, adding, “We understand that the Pskov region is melting away.”The trend is similar across Russia. Some Russians lament that something deeper, an essential part of Russian culture, will ebb along with the rural population.

Source: New York Times July 29, 2017 11:48 UTC