Gender disbalance of the rural population in Russia (RSFSR) during World War II (1939-1945)
Abstract
The article is a study of one of the most important problems of the demography and history of Russia in the 20th century. The author set himself the task of shedding light on the phenomenon, insufficiently studied in the demographic history of Russia, of the development of gender disbalance in the country's rural population during 1939-1945. The article emphasizes that, while our country entered World War II already with a disbalanced sex ratio, after 1941 gender asymmetry worsened to the extreme. The article also takes into account that the age components of the demographic catastrophe of the war period are closely correlated with changes in the gender structure of the population. All conclusions made in the article are based on a wide range of sources, some of which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, including data from the household records of sel’sovets for 1943 and 1945 and voter lists compiled for the elections of deputies to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on February 10, 1946. The materials of the 1939 All-Union Population Census were also used as an important source of information. The article determines the ratio of gender-age groups in the rural population of the rear areas of Russia at the beginning (1939), middle (1943) and end (1945) of World War II. On this basis, the dynamics of changes in the gender and age structure of the rural population of Russia are revealed. As shown in the article, the main reason for the exacerbation of gender disbalance lies in the military mobilization of the male part of the population in the army and the death of men during the fighting.
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References
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