Ethnic‐specific infant care practices and infant mortality in late Imperial Russia

Abstract

The Russian Empire had the highest infant mortality rate in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century. Using a variety of official statistical sources and qualitative evidence, this paper documents uniquely high infant mortality among ethnic Russians. In contrast, among other ethnic groups of the empire, infant mortality rates did not exceed those of the European countries by much. The evidence suggests that the explanation for the Russian infant mortality pattern was ethnic‐specific infant care practices, such as the early introduction of solid food, which increased the incidence of lethal gastrointestinal diseases. Our findings highlight the importance of traditional infant feeding practices in mortality in pre‐industrial societies.

Waiting to Die? Old Age in the Late Imperial Russian Village

“…22 These figures reflect the very high chance of death in infancy and early childhood; 250 out of every 1,000 babies did not survive their first year, a rate significantly higher than in other European countries. 23 The 1897 census indicated that elderly people made up around 7 per cent of the population, and that there was no significant disparity between men and women, which correlated with data from Western European countries. 24 The most commonly cited age for the onset of old age in the Tenishev survey was around sixty-five to seventy, though different correspondents offered widely digressing start points for decrepitude, from forty-five to seventyplus.…”