Russia is in the middle of a staggering population decline.
The population of Russia is dwindling.
The United Nations estimates say that the country's population will be 116 million people by the year 2050, which will be 30 million less people than in 2000 when President Vladimir Putin took power.
In 1986, after former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev closed 90 percent of Moscow's alcohol stores, the birth rate reached new twenty year highs, but by the early 90s, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the population started to decline again.
The life expectancy of Russians has fallen to under 70 years in 2012.
Another report shows that other widely believed negative facts about Russia, may have been true at some point, but many are changing for the better.
For instance, the county's military spending today as a % of GDP is not as high as widely believed, particularly when compared to the numbers in early 90s.
The death rate in Russia from accidental alcohol poisoning has been declining over the past ten years, and it is lower than it was during Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign.
