Postwar Ukrainians Began to Die Out In the 1950s
British economist John Maynard Keynes believed that the knowledge of historical
factors enlightens brains quite well, especially muddled ones. Political
speculations, public opinion rigging, and even scientific concept mongering
are always based on distorted, incomplete, or completely blocked or suppressed
information. The Communist Bolsheviks and their Nazi blood brothers, proved
to be the unmatched manipulators of the twentieth century.
Our attention has recently been attracted by the simultaneous cries
by Russian and Ukrainian Communists that the independence of these states
has brought both Russian and Ukrainian citizens to extinction. According
to Russian State Duma Deputy Viktor Iliukhin, the population of Russia
has dwindled by almost 5 million over the years of independence. Comrade
Iliukhin, straightforward as befits a Communist, points out the causes:
the collapse of the Soviet Union and the penetration of Zionists into Russia's
government circles and presidential entourage.
The population of Ukraine has fallen by almost 2 million in the years
of independence. Our native comrades of the type of People's Deputy Natalia
Vitrenko name independence as the sole cause.
Both Russian and Ukrainian Communists not only try to persuade their
own peoples but also frighten the whole world that breaking out of an empire
always leads to extinction and independence causes genocide. And, as always,
they do not present well-founded arguments.
Let us refer to the statistics and look into Ukraine's recent postwar
Communist, past. Let us consider natural movement of the Ukrainian population
based on the statistical yearbooks published by the Ministry of Statistics
and accessible to every educated and conscientious citizen of Ukraine,
especially to doctors of economics at college statistics departments, to
which category Ms. Vitrenko attaches herself.
The tables show data on Ukraine's demographic situation in 1940-1998.
Table 1 characterizes the demographic process according to three main factors.
These are birthrate, mortality, and natural growth rate (natality minus
mortality). All three factors indicate the number of cases per thousand
of population. The two former indicators can only be positive, while the
latter can be both negative and positive.
The picture is so clear (see the chart) that even a brief survey allows
us to make a very important conclusion against the backdrop of our over-politicized
times.
Conclusion one. The Ukrainian population's natural growth began
to fall in the late 1950s. This was then caused by a declining birth rate.
Mortality also fell, which is, of course, a positive point, but "negative
birth rate" overrode "positive mortality."
Conclusion two. The greatest, twofold (!), fall in the natural
growth of population in Soviet Ukraine occurred in the 1960s. Simultaneously,
two "negatives" were at work: the birthrate decreased 1.5-fold from 20.5
to 15.2 cases per thousand o and mortality rose from 6.9 to 8.8.
Conclusion three is based on a comparison of data in the two
tables. The overall increase of Ukraine's population surpassed its natural
growth. For example, in 1989 the overall increase was 36.1 people per 1000
of the population, while the natural growth was only 1.7, i.e., 21 times
less! Hence, before 1990, the population of Ukraine was increasing at the
expense of a mechanistic growth of the population due to resettlement (there
were three waves: 1) Ukrainians deported at various times returning to
their native land, 2) Ukraine being colonized by Russians, and 3) retired
military men being settled in Ukraine as a reward for their service).
Conclusion four. Besides worsening living conditions, a crucial
factor in the rising death rate is an increased share of old-age pensioners
in Ukraine, which reached almost 30% in 1998, i.e., about one-third of
the total population.
Conclusion five. An opposite trend has been seen since 1994.
The fall of the overall population growth exceeds the fall of the natural
growth. In 1997, the overall increase was minus 7.8 per 1000 of the population,
while the natural growth was minus 6.2. This means people have begun leaving
Ukraine. And they are more than those who come in.
The general conclusion is as follows. Firstly, one should not
take the word of communists at face value. What is more, the "facts" they
present heed to verified.
Secondly, to become respectable people, we all must immediately shed
the communist way of thinking and behaving.
By Yuri SAYENKO, Doctor of Sciences (Sociology)






