This is not a new article, but it came up as a suggestion from my web browser.
After ruling out the usual suspects for premature death, Russians seem to be dying from a lack of hope—resulting in a ~5% population reduction between 1992 and 2009.
if Russians are dying for lack of hope, as they seem to be—then the question that is still looking for its researcher is, Why haven’t Russians experienced hope in the last quarter century? Or, more precisely in light of the grim continuity of Russian death, What happened to Russians over the course of the Soviet century that has rendered them incapable of hope?
www.nybooks.com/…
Putin is probably aware of this. I’ve got to wonder if Putin’s influence colors Trump’s view of “acceptable” covid losses.