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Current topic: The sustainable development rating of Russia’s cities: what’s new?

• Why ask about sustainable development

• How the rating was calculated

• Cities of Western Siberia: leaders and outsiders

• What affects the position of cities in the rating

• Cities require harmonious development

• What changed in the years 2012-2014

• Possible uses of the rating’s results

• Links to related topics

• Topics of previous issues

Russian demographic barometer

• Russia: preliminary demographic results of 2015 (Part 1)

• Russia’s population is increasing for the seventh consecutive year; in 2015 it grew by 0.2%, coming to 146.5 million people as of January 1, 2016

• In 2015, natural increase remained as small as in 2014; population growth still comes mainly from migration

• In 2015 the number of births decreased by 0.2%

• The number of registered marriages and divorces also decreased

Through the eyes of the analysts

• Domestic and foreign experience in the study of cities losing population: themes, methods and research centers

• Current trends within US urban agglomerations

• Moscow: capital, global city, agglomeration

• Major cities in Central Asia: between demography and politics

Q&A

• International Women’s Day and gender equality

• “Today women match up to us in everything…”

• Church and State

• The labor market and unemployment: assessments and forecasts

In the vastness of Russia

• In 2015 Russians were born and died less often

• Skvortsova tells Putin about the increase in life expectancy in Russia

• In Russia over the last 10 years life expectancy has increased by 5 years

• Will life expectancy in Russia reach 73 years by 2018?

• Fertility decreased by 4.8% in January 2016

• Fertility in Moscow increased by 3% in 2015

• In 2015 most Muscovites became parents at the age of 30-34

• Russia moves up to second place in the world in the number of divorces

• Raising the retirement age in Russia will take at least 10 years

• Russian students do not know the retirement age in Russia

• Trade union leader proposes leaving 20% of Russians without a pension

• Russians may be required to participate in the accumulation of pensions

• The number of Russians with incomes below the subsistence level has reached 19 million

• Moscow, the Moscow region and St. Petersburg are in the lead in quality of life in the country

• Ministry of Labor proposes to increase unemployment benefits by 70%

• Can Russia expect a flow of migrants from Europe?

• A bill on the confirmation of migrants’ mental health has been introduced in State Duma

• The sale alcohol near social establishments will increase consumption

• One in seven Russians drink surrogate alcohol

• Ministry of Interior notes growing number of “drunken” crimes in 2015

• Medvedev urges against reaching the point of absurdity in the fight against alcoholism

• Jewish Autonomous District holds second place in Russia in the level of mortality from tuberculosis

• Is the reduction in the number of people with disabilities in Russia due to mortality?

• The number of women losing their lives in the workplace has decreased by 20%

• This winter saw the highest death rate from the flu in the last three years

• Russia has become the leader among European countries in prison deaths

• Dr. Roshal invites head of Ministry of Finance to have a check-up in a polyclinic

• Oncology Center on Kashirka receives only one-third of required funding

• Court recognizes right of Russians not to have a last name

Eurasian panorama

• Population of Moldova is continuously getting older

• More than half a million children born in Belarus over last five years

• In Kirgizia one in six marriages falls apart

• In Belarus, 871 men for every 1000 women

• Human development index of Belarusian women is higher than for men

• CIS countries will pursue a coordinated social and demographic policy

• World Bank insists on raising the retirement age in Ukraine

• Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine is against raising the retirement age

• Will those born in Moldova after 1970 not be able to count on a pension?

• The wage gap between men and women in Belarus is shrinking

• Are Belarusian moms bored at home on maternity leave?

• In Azerbaijan it’s more profitable to die than to be born

• UNDP advocates for targeted support to vulnerable sections of the population of Belarus

• World Bank launches project to develop higher education in Tajikistan

• In Georgia, a move to put into law that

• marriage is a union between a man and a woman

• Kazakhstan intends to tighten requirements for adoptive parents

• Every woman in Turkmenistan will receive 40 manats for March 8^th holiday

• Women in Kazakhstan are more often employed in skilled labor than men

• European Commission presents draft document on the introduction of visa-free regime for citizens of Georgia

• Proposal to test foreigners seeking citizenship of Kirgizia on knowledge of the state language

• Obtaining a residence permit in Russia may be made easier for refugees from Ukraine

• EU and MOM helping Georgia deal with migration issues

• Most building sites in Turkmen capital stand idle without workers

• Incidence of tuberculosis in Kazakhstan has decreased by almost 12%

• US authorities to help Tajikistan develop new plan to fight tuberculosis

• Japan will provide Uzbekistan $566,000 in grants

• In 2016 Ukraine needs to introduce medical insurance for all citizens

• Victims of violence in Azerbaijan do not seek “protection orders”

• In Tajikistan Human Rights website begins working

• About 43% of population of Tajikistan live without access to clean drinking water

World news

• Japan records first ever decline in population

• Shanghai’s population declined for first time in 100 years

• Life expectancy of Beijing resident is close to 82 years

• Men with an educated wife live longer

• Fertility in Norway is lowest in 35 years

• Aging of the population is the central problem of the German economy

• Chinese authorities plan to raise retirement age

• The number of working-age residents in Latvia in 2030 may decrease by 20%

• Will more than 500,000 people really die from hunger by 2050?

• London and New York have the largest numbers of rich residents

• The best work conditions for women are in Northern Europe

• The introduction of a visa-free regime between the EU and Turkey will take place before the end of June

• Backing out of Schengen agreement could cost Finland a billion euros

• Belgium introduces border control on French border

• Baltic countries have started to build fences at the borders

• UN calls cruel attempts of countries to wall themselves off from migrants

• In 2015 1.25 million persons asked for asylum in the EU

• Over 100,000 refugees have arrived in Europe since the beginning of 2016

• The main route for refugees is closed

• European Commission proposes instrument for rapid response to migration crisis

• Merkel calls immigration crisis biggest challenge during her stay in power

• Bundestag votes in favor of stricter immigration legislation

• Interior Ministers of Germany and Italy propose new immigration policy

• Germany plans to conclude agreements with 16 countries on return of migrants

• About 77% of migrants arrive in Germany without documents

• Germany expecting arrival of 3.6 million refugees by 2020

• In Germany 130,000 migrants have “been lost”

• Norway to accept 3,000 Syrian refugees

• Hungary to hold referendum on issue of quotas for receiving migrants

• Switzerland will introduce an annual limit on immigrants

• Swiss protest against deportation of foreigners breaking the law

• Clinton promises to support migrants working in the US

• In the US, a sharp reduction in the number of abortion clinics

• The number of abortions in Israel has shrunk to a minimum

• Polish women have demanded legal abortions

• Italy increases fine for illegal abortion 200-fold

• Proposal in Sweden to legalize “male abortion”

• Anorexia is the mortality leader among mental disorders

• Italian Senate endorses bill on same-sex marriage

The newspapers write about…

• “Nezavisimaya gazeta” on the social problems of Russia

• “Russkaya sluzhba BBC” on “downward adjustment” and the degradation of the population

• “Polit.ru” on the problems of medical and social expertise

• “Kommersant” on new criteria for the recognition of disability

• “Kommersant” on “non-Moscow” orphans

• “Kommersant” on the middle class

• “Novye Izvestiya” on unemployment benefits

• “Novosti Belarusi” on unemployment in Belarus

• “Forbes” on the demographic future of Russia

• “Polit.ru” on life expectancy in Russia

• “Rossiyskaya gazeta” on gender disparities

• “Moskovskiy Komsomolets” on corruption in autopsies

• “Kommersat Dengi” on surrogate alcohol

• “Ruskaya planeta” on migration and the EU economy

• “Russkaya Germaniya” on refugees in Germany

• “Slate.fr” on refugees outside of Europe

• “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” on the problem of refugees in Russia

• “Novye Izvestiya” on the expulsion of Syrian refugees from Russia

• “Argumenty i fakty Ukraina” on emigration from Ukraine

• “Ekho Moskvy” and “Novaya gazeta” on the “sausage ban” in Germany

• “Ogonyok” on the children of migrants in Russia

• “Slon.ru” on those who believe in the American dream

• “Atlantico” on racism in France

• “Kommersant” and “rus2web.ru” on nannies

• “Kommersant” on the “inflated” number of victims of Stalinist repression

• “KAVPOLIT” on the anniversary of the deportation of the Balkars

• “Vedomosti” on attracting Caucasians to the Far East

• “Polit.ru” on “free hectare” of land in the Far East and the effectiveness of resettlement policy

• “RBK” on state support for an “elastic Moscow”

• “The Independent” on contemporary goals of feminism

• “The Village” on the “sandwich syndrome”

• “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” on the census in the United States

Read books and magazines

• Sustainable development rating of Russian cities 2014

• City Fact Sheets

• Human Development report in the Russian Federation for 2015

• Switzerland. Health Systems in Transition

• Natural movement of the population of the Republic of Moldova in 2014

• Through the pages of the journals “Demograficheskoye obozrenie” (“Demographic Review”) and “Profilakticheskaya meditsina” (“Preventive Medicine”)

• Contents of the journal “Population & Societes”

Demographic digest

• Why do intimate partners live apart? Evidence on LAT relationships across Europe

• Changing Determinants of Low Fertility and Diffusion: a Spatial Analysis for Italy

• Guys, it's time to stop using 'statistical significance' as the mark of important research. P-values don't mean what you think they mean.

Profession: researcher

• 150 years since the birth of George Chandler Whipple

• Frans Willekens turns 70

Satirical article

• An impersonal briefing