Hundreds of Russian villages disappear as birth rate plummets

According to Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, hundreds of Russian villages have disappeared over the last year, as the population in Russia continues to shrink.

Key Takeaways:

• At least 266 settlements and villages have disappeared over the last year in Russia.

• Russia has been experiencing widespread population decline.

• The issue of plummeting birth rates has become a global crisis.

The Details:

The Ukraine Foreign Intelligence Service reported that 266 villages in Russia have essentially disappeared, with the regions of Kostroma and Novgorod most heavily affected.

Perm Krai is another region struggling, but officials have begun consolidating villages in a desperate attempt to reverse the trend. There, residents are being forcibly resettled, or small villages are "annexed" into larger ones.

The issue is allegedly being caused by the continuing population decline in Russia. The ongoing war with Ukraine is also likely contributing to the ongoing demographic crisis, as Russia has enlisted young men to fight.

The regions most heavily affected are the ones with the highest conscription rates. With the area's men absent, there are significantly less children able to be fathered. Ultimately, Russia is projected to lose 25% of its population in the next 50 years. One million Russians have already been lost, most of whom are men between the ages of 20 and 35.

However, the invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent war are not the only issues.

Zoom In:

According to previous reports about Russia's population crisis, the country suffers from low fertility rates, much like countless other countries around the globe. The fertility rate, or the estimated average number of children born to each woman, is currently 1.4, far lower than replacement rate, or the number of children a nation needs to replace itself and maintain its size, which is 2.1.

When a population falls below replacement rate, it indicates an aging and shrinking population.

The fertility rate in Russia is currently at a 200-year low. The first quarter of 2025 reportedly saw the lowest number of births in the country since the 1800s, with deaths outnumbering births 1.6 to 1, though in some regions, it was as high as 3 to 1.

Russia faced a similar demographic crisis in the 1990s, though this one is shaping up to be even worse. Immigration to Russia is drastically lower than it was at that time, but it isn't just that immigration has decreased; the number of people emigrating out of Russia has drastically risen. Most of those are young, well-educated professionals.

People aged 65+ now make up more than 18% of the population, which is already an all-time high, and it is expected that the number will grow to 24% within a few short decades. And though Vladimir Putin has put numerous initiatives into place to encourage childbirth, including a "hero mother" medal for women with 10 or more children, these measure do not appear to be working.

The Russian population was 147.6 million in 1990 and has since fallen to 146.1 million in 2025, despite the illegal annexation of Crimea and its 2 million residents being included in the data.

The Bottom Line:

Russia is far from alone on this issue. The United States and virtually all of Europe likewise have fertility rates well below replacement levels, leading to worldwide demographic crises and frantic efforts to reverse the trend.