The demographic calendar presents documents, publications, studies, conferences and other events, which are important for demographic history and whose round dates were in 2019. Referring to history is important for understanding how the modern knowledge about population has been developing. Information about essential documents in the field of population and family policy, population censuses and demographic statistics are presented. Information on anniversaries and brief biographical data on both living and deceased demographers, statisticians, mathematicians, sociologists, geographers and other colleagues from areas adjacent to demography is presented in the paper.

demographic calendar, anniversaries, round dates, demographers, censuses, demographic publications

Dear readers! What will the “demographic” 2019 be remembered for?

This year the implementation of the “Demography” National Project for 2019-2024, the passport of which was approved a year ago, at the end of December 2018, was started (Passport... 2018).

In the Address of the President of the Russian Federation dated February 20, 2019, the maintenance of the population and utmost support of families were identified among key tasks. The solution of demographic problems, as it was noted in the Address, is directly connected with overcoming poverty. Considerable financial resources will be devoted to this. It was emphasized in the Address: “It is important that the birth and upbringing of children would not mean risk of poverty or a sharp decline in the level of well-being for the family” (Address... 2019).

Experts and officials are looking for answers to urgent questions: Are the objectives set out in the National Project well-grounded and are the expected results achievable? Are the measures already in action and, at first glance, generously funded, sufficient? What new measures can demographic science recommend in order to stop the birth rate decline since 2016 and to ensure the growth of the TFR to 1.7 by 2024? Is there a chance to enter into the regime of sustainable natural growth by 2023-2024? In modern Russia, positive natural growth was only in 2013-2015, and prior to that in distant 1991.

In 2019, there was the 75th anniversary of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR of July 8, 1944, which can be considered the beginning of a comprehensive pro-natalist policy aimed at supporting families with children and encouragement of many-children families (Decree... 1944).

This is a good opportunity to remind our demographic history, censuses and research, publications and conferences important for understanding how the formation of modern population knowledge was taking place.

Information on anniversaries and brief biographical data on both living and deceased demographers, statisticians, mathematicians, sociologists, geographers and other colleagues from areas adjacent to demography is given.

25 years ago Dmitry Valentey , the founder of the scientific school of population economics and demography in the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the founder of the Laboratory of Population Research (1965), the Department of Population (1967) and Centre for Population Studies (1968), passed away (15.09.1922 — 17.12.1994) The 10th Valentey Readings are planned for 2020, and in 2022 we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dmitry Valentey.

Probably, the below excursus into the past will not be full, everyone has their own memories and their perception of the significance of certain events and facts. The author will be grateful for any clarifications, additions, and comments.

In 2019, there were round dates of four population censuses of the USSR, which were conducted in the years ending with 9.

Next year the 2020 Population Census will take place exactly 10 years after the previous census of 2010. The exact 10-year interval between censuses happened only once in my 70-year life. I mean the interval between 1979 and 1989 censuses. But now it is not only the second time in our history that the interval is exactly 10 years, but also, for the first time, two consecutive censuses will take place in years, multiple of 10! For example, in the United States censuses in years, multiple of 10, have been regularly conducted since 1790, and in 2020 will be held... for the 24th time!

35 years ago (in 1984) at the request of the authorities of Moscow a new division was created within the frames of the Laboratory of Population Research: Department of Economic and Demographic Issues of Moscow. Its activities were focused on practice-oriented research for the Population Department of Moscow City Executive Committee. The head of the Department was Doctor in Economics Valentina Moiseenko.

35 years ago (in 1984) a special department for retraining personnel in demography began its work. Practitioners, researchers and teachers from different republics of the USSR received full demographic education within 8 months of training. The department worked until 1992 and ceased to function with the collapse of the USSR.

25 years ago (in 1994) active implementation of the international TEMPUS project funded by the European Community, was started. Teachers of the Department of Population and researchers of the Laboratory passed training courses in foreign universities, got acquainted with the experience of teaching demography, participated in various conferences and seminars. Partners of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University in this project were: Department of Demography of the “La Sapienza” University (Rome, Italy), Institutes of Demography of the University “Paris-1-Panthéon-Sorbonne” (Paris, France) and Louvain Catholic University (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium). As a result of this 5-year project, a number of new courses have been elaborated and a Master Program on Population Economics , Demography and Social Policy has been established at the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

75 years ago (in 1944) the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR 1947 “On increasing State assistance to pregnant women, mothers with many children and single mothers, strengthening the protection of mothers and children, establishing the honorary title “Heroine Mother” and establishing the “Maternal Glory Order “ and the “Maternity Medal” was adopted (Decree... 1944).

In order to encourage many children in families, child allowances have been introduced: one-time, starting from the 3rd child, and monthly, starting from the 4th child (from the second year to the age of 5 years). The amount of allowances was differentiated according to the order of birth of the child.

Thus, mothers with two children were granted lump-sum benefits in the amount of 400 rubles at the birth of the fourth child, 1,300 rubles at the birth of the fifth child, 1,700 rubles at the birth of the fifth child, 2,000 rubles at the birth of the 6th child, 2,500 rubles at the birth of the 7th and 8th child, 3,500 rubles at the birth of the 9th and 10th child. For mothers with ten children, at the birth of each next child - 5,000 rubles.

Monthly allowances were granted to mothers with many children starting from the second year of birth until the child reached the age of five, i.e. the benefit was paid for four years. Mothers with three children, at the birth of the 4th child, were paid 80 rubles a month, at the birth of the 5th child -120 rubles, at the birth of the 6th child -140 rubles, at the birth of the 7th and 8th child - 200 rubles, at the birth of the 9th and 10th child — 250 rubles. For mothers with ten children, at the birth of each next child - 300 rubles.

State allowances for single mothers (unmarried) were established in the amount of 100 rubles per month for one child, 150 rubles for two children and 200 rubles for three or more children. This allowance was granted until the children reached the age of 12. For single mothers with three or more children, the allowance was paid in addition to the allowance for many-children mothers. If a single mother had married, she was still entitled to the benefit. A single mother could place the child born by her in a children’s institution, where they were obliged to accept the child for maintenance and upbringing at full State expense. At the same time, the child’s mother had the right to take her child back from the institution for her upbringing. No child allowance was paid during the stay of the child in an institution.

Maternity leave for female employees was increased from 63 to 77 calendar days, the duration of leave was 35 days prior to childbirth and 42 days after childbirth, an allowance was granted for this period. In the case of abnormal childbirth or twins, leave after childbirth was increased to 56 calendar days.

Benefits were introduced to pay for children’s stay in kindergartens and nurseries. The fee was reduced by 50% for parents with three children earning under 400 rubles per month; having four children earning under 600 rubles per month; having five or more children regardless of the amount of earnings.

It was planned to expand the network of childcare facilities to include full coverage of all children in need of care by expanding the network of child clinics and dairy kitchens, organization of nurseries for infants, evening groups at kindergartens and obstetric institutions. Ministries and agencies were instructed to approve plans to accomplish this task. Since the Decree was adopted in 1944, when the war with Germany still continued, it was implemented only in the territories which were withdrawn from German occupancy.

The decree also included measures for moral encouragement of many children. The “Maternity Medal” of the 1st and 2nd class was established to award mothers who gave birth and raised five children (medal of the 2nd class) and six children (medal of the 1st class). The “Maternal Glory Order” I, II and III class was awarded to mothers who gave birth and raised seven children (Order of the III class); eight children (Order of the II class); nine children (Order of the I class). The mothers who gave birth and raised ten children were awarded the honorary title “Heroine Mother” with the award of the “Heroine Mother Order” and the letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR. The awarding of medals and orders and the awarding of the title “Heroine Mother” took place when the last child reached the age of one year and if the other children of the mother were alive. At the same time, children who were killed or went missing on the fronts of the Second World War were taken into account.

In addition to measures to encourage the number of children and increase the material support of the family at the birth of children, restrictive measures were introduced to encourage the birth of children in marriage and reduce the number of divorces.

Thus, amendments were made to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR of November 21, 1941 “On the tax on bachelors, single and childless citizens of the USSR”. The tax was established not only for citizens without children, but also for citizens with one and two children. Men over 20 and under 50 years of age and women over 20 and under 45 years of age were taxed. The amounts of tax levies were differentiated. Citizens subject to income tax, in the absence of children were charged 6% of income, in the presence of one child - 1% and in the presence of two children - 0,5% of income.

The right of the mother to file a lawsuit for paternity and maintenance for a child born to a person with whom she is not married was abolished. This would probably have encouraged marriage registration and the birth of children in marriage. Persons who were actually in a marriage relationship prior to the issuance of the Decree were asked to register the marriage with an indication of the period of actual cohabitation.

Finally, divorce procedures were complicated and tightened. It was established that divorce was to be made publicly, through courts. Publication in the local newspaper of a notice of initiation of judicial proceedings for divorce was required. The payment of the announcement was borne by the spouse who applied for the dissolution of the marriage. The court was obliged to determine the reasons for the dissolution of marriage and to take steps to reconcile the spouses. When issuing the certificate of divorce, a note of divorce was made in the passport of each spouse, and according to the court decision, one or both spouses were charged 500 to 2,000 rubles.

The amounts of allowances established in 1944 were valid until the end of 1947. By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR of November 25, 1947 from January 1, 1948 the amount was reduced exactly by half in connection with the strengthening of the ruble and the growth of its purchasing power (Decree... 1947).

45 years ago (in 1974) the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR dated September 25, 1974 № 312-IX “On introduction of allowances for children to low-income families” was adopted. In accordance with the Directives of the XXIV Congress of the CPSU on the Five-Year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1971-1975 and “... in order to create better conditions for the upbringing of the younger generation and increase in material assistance to low-income families with children” introduced child allowances “for families in which the average total income per family member does not exceed 50 rubles per month” (Decree... 1974).

The number of children didn’t matter. The amount of the allowance was 12 rubles per month for each child up to the age of 8. The allowance was not taxed. The Council of Ministers of the USSR approved the Regulation on the procedure for granting and paying child benefits to low-income families, which, inter alia, specified the types of income to be taken into account in the calculation of the average total income of the family.

In 1983, the right for the monthly allowance was granted to families with an income under 75 rubles living in the Far East and Siberia, in the northern regions of the country (in the Karelian ASSR and Komi ASSR, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk oblasts, as well as in the Vologda, Novgorod and Pskov oblasts (in the wording of the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 29.12.1983, №1238) (Okhrana... 1986: 149).

20 years ago (in 1999) the transition to a new model for the allocation and payment of monthly allowances started; it was based on a targeted principle and assigned only for children in low-income families. According to Federal Law No. 171-FL of 17 July 1999 “On Amendments to Article 16 of the Federal Law “On State Benefits to Citizens with Children”, since August 1999 it was established that the right to a monthly child benefit is only for families with an average per capita income not exceeding 100 per cent of the subsistence minimum in an administrative unit of the Russian Federation (Federal Law... 1999).

According to legislators, such a measure was intended to redistribute limited financial resources to the poorest families with children.

5 years ago (in 2014) the Concept of State Family Policy in Russia for the period up to 2025 was adopted. It was approved by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation №1618-p of August 25, 2014 (Order... 2014).

In April 2015, the Action Plan for 2015-2018 for the implementation of the first phase of the Concept was approved, and in February 2016 the composition of the Coordinating Council under the Government of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the Concept was approved. The Concept formulated the goals of family policy: support, strengthening and protection of the family and the values of family life; creation of the necessary conditions for the family to perform its functions; improvement of the quality of life of families; ensuring the rights of family members.

The main objectives of the Concept are defined as follows: development of economic independence of the family and creation of conditions for independent exercise of its social function; development of a system of State support for families, including at birth and the upbringing of children; development of support mechanisms for families in need of improved housing; development of the life-protecting function of the family and creation of conditions for the health of its members; increasing the value of family lifestyle, encouragement of spiritual and moral traditions in family relations and upbringing children; assistance to families in implementation of their educational and cultural potential; social protection of families and children in need of special State care; prevention of family distress, neglect and homelessness; improvement of the effectiveness of social protection of families with minor children involved in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings.

To monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of the Concept, target indicators are defined: reduction of the proportion of families with children under 16 years of age in the total number of families whose average per capita income is below the established subsistence minimum in an administrative unit of the Russian Federation; reduction of the number of unemployed parents and an increase in the share of employed citizens with family responsibilities; an increase in the number of children under three years of age enrolled in pre-school education and care services; a decrease in the number of divorces; increase in the proportion of families who have improved housing; decrease in the proportion of children who do not receive full alimony; decrease in the number of rejection of newborns in maternity hospitals; decrease in the share of orphans and children left without parental care.

The concept is to be implemented in two stages (the first stage — 2015-2018, the second stage — 2019-2025) in accordance with the phased plans approved by the Government of Russia. The activities shaped by the Concept are carried out within the framework of the federal budget, the regional and municipal budgets provided for the social support of families, motherhood and childhood. Information on the implementation of the first stage of the Concept of State Family Policy in 2015-2018 is available on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (Information... 2019).

70 years ago (in 1949) the record number of births was registered in Russia (RSFSR) - 2,960 thousand births, the largest number in the post-war period. According to Andreev et al. (1998) the under-accounting could be about 4.2%. Correcting for the incompleteness of registration, the authors estimated the number of births in 1949 as 3,089 thousand. As of January 1, 2019 in Russia there were 1,564,953 people born in 1949, of which 579,631 were men and 985,322 were women (1.7 times more than men) (Population... 2019). During 2018, the number of this cohort decreased by 44,989persons (2.8%), of which the number of men born in 1949 fell by 26,875 persons (4.4%), and women - by 18,114 (1.8%) (Population... 2018).

20 years ago (in 1999) the smallest number of births in the history of observations in Russia was registered — 1,214,700 births. The total fertility rate of 1.157 was also a record low. I would like to believe that in the coming years Russia will not beat these anti-records (Demograficheskiy... 2015: 37,45).

65 years ago the First World Population Conference was held in Rome (August 31 -September 10, 1954). Demographic aspects of economic and social development, consequences of population ageing, international migration, demographic challenges of developing countries, issues of population statistics, etc. were considered. Neo-Malthusian concepts were criticized. The next conference was held in Belgrade in 1965 (Tkachenko et al. 2013: 135).

45 years ago, Bucharest hosted the World Population Conference (August 18-30, 1974), for the first time at the governmental level. The World Population Plan of Action (WPPA) was adopted, emphasizing that socio-economic development is a key factor for demographic trends dynamics (Tkachenko et al. 2013: 136).

40 years ago (in 1979) the First All-Union Conference (workshop) on the Issues of Population Development Management was held in the city of Brest in Belarus. The initiator of this demographic forum important for science and practice and the Head of the Organizing Committee, was Dmitry Valentey. Timed to the conference, over 20 reports were published in separate brochures, around which discussions of demographers, academics, as well as practitioners from federal and republican ministries took place. Subsequent workshops were held in Saratov (1982), Yoshkar-Ola (1987) and Ashgabat (1991).

35 years ago the World Population Conference was held at the governmental level in Mexico City (August 6-14, 1984). The results of the World Population Plan of Action were reviewed and Recommendations for the further implementation of the WPPA were adopted. They focused on combating hunger, poverty and unemployment, elimination of inequality, and paid great attention to the situation of women. The Mexico City Declaration on Population and Development was also adopted (Tkachenko et al. 2013: 136).

25 years ago the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was held in Cairo in September 5-13, 1994. The topic of the Cairo conference was “Population, Sustained Economic Growth and Sustainable Development”, it emphasized the interrelationship and interdependence of economic and social development and the changes taking place in the reproduction of the population, its structures and processes. The goal was to formulate a global population strategy. The Heads of 179 States signed the 20-year Programme of Action and committed themselves to expanding family planning, ensuring universal access to reproductive health protection and reproductive rights. It was recognized that empowerment women and girls is one of the most reliable path-ways to improved well-being for families, States and the world in whole. The Russian delegation headed by Minister of Labour G.G.Melikyan presented at the conference the “Population” Encyclopedic Dictionary , the publication of which was timed to the conference.

25 years after the Cairo Conference has demonstrated notable progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action, but much remains to be done. Large segments of the population in many countries lack access to quality health care, education and other basic rights. On November 12-14, 2019, Nairobi hosted the World Summit dedicated to the 25th anniversary of ICPD (The Nairobi Summit... 2019).

The Governments of Kenya and Denmark, together with UNFPA, organized a high-level meeting in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to assess both achievements and challenges, and to mobilize political will and financial commitments necessary for the final and complete implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. The immediate goals of the summit were to achieve: zero unmet need for family planning information and services, zero preventable maternal mortality and zero sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls.

245 years ago (in 1774) an article on population was first included in the 34th volume of the Denis Diderot’ Encyclopedia. The author of the article was the French historian Etienne Damilaville. The emergence of a new scientific definition in the encyclopedic edition reflected the emergence of a new field of research, centered on population reproduction.

60 years ago (in 1959) the book by Boris Smulevich (1894-1981) “Criticism of bourgeois population theories and policy” was published (Smulevich 1959). The book examines in detail the sanitary and demographic processes in capitalist countries, reproduction of population, causes of fertility decline, characteristics of mortality, post-war demographic effects, Malthusianism, population optimum and other population theories, population and health policy.

45 years ago (in 1974) the “Course of demography” edited by Aaron Boyarsky — a textbook for students of economic specialties of higher education institutions was published (Boyarsky 1974). It was the second edition, while the first one was published in 1967. Among the authors were Dmitry Valentey, Aleksandr Kvasha, Anatoly Sudoplatov, Anatoly Vishnevsky and others. Index of names and subject index were made by Mark Tolts. The third edition was published 11 years later in 1985. For many years up to the early 2000s, the “Course of Demography” was the main textbook for students and postgraduates; later the textbooks “Demography” by Vladimir Borisov and Viktor Medkov, “Introduction to Demography” edited by Vladimir Iontsev and Aleksandr Sagradov and other textbooks were published.

40 years ago (in 1979) the book by Galina Kiseleva “Is it necessary to increase the birth rate”? was published. The work, published in the series “Statistics for All”, helped readers understand the essence of the problem of low fertility, explained the essence and measures of demographic policy in the field of fertility (Kiseleva 1979). According to the author, the measures carried out by the State to provide diversified material assistance to large families, families with low incomes and single mothers should be supplemented by a system of measures of active population policy that is to be applied to all families with children without exception (Kiseleva 1979: 89).

30 years ago (in 1989) the demographic handbook “World Population” was published (Naselenie mira... 1989). The authors’ team, coordinated by Vladimir Borisov (1933-2005), included Vladimir Arkhangelsky, Solomon Brook (1920-1995), Aleksandr Sinelnikov, and others. The handbook contained detailed information on the population of the USSR and other countries of the world, population dynamics, sex and age structure, marriage and family composition, fertility, mortality and life expectancy, ethnic, linguistic and religious composition of population, and population policies. The predecessor of this unique edition was the series of “Population of the countries of the world” reference books, initiated by Boris Urlanis (1906-1981). The first of these reference books was published 45 years ago, in 1974. (Urlanis 1974, 1978; Urlanis and Borisov 1983).

30 years ago (in 1989) the textbook “Migratiology” by Mikhail Denisenko, Vladimir Iontsev and Boris Khorev was published in the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

25 years ago (in 1994) the “Population” Encyclopedic Dictionary was published (Melikyan 1994). The copies of the Dictionary were partly intended for the presentation at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development. The chief editor of the dictionary was Minister of Labour Gennady Melikyan, who headed the Russian delegation at the conference. The dictionary included about 1.5 thousand articles and materials reflecting the current state of national and world demographic science. In the dictionary there were no articles on individual countries like in the predecessor of this dictionary - the “Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary” (1985). At the same time, population data for 230 countries and territories were presented in the annex. The most of the articles was accompanied by a small bibliography of sources of recent years.

15 years ago (in 2004) the theoretical and practical manual “Demographic factor in socio-economic development of the region” was published (Iontsev 2004). Initiated by the Expert Institute under the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, this manual, taking the example of the Perm oblast, presented conceptual framework for the analysis the role of demographic factor in socio-economic development and methodological recommendations on monitoring the demographic situation; on carrying out demographic examination of normative documents, projects and programs; on qualitative research in the analysis of regional development; and elaboration of a program of action to improve the demographic situation. Experts both from the Laboratory of Population Economics and Demography (Vladimir Arkhangelsky, Valery Elizarov, Natalya Zvereva) and from the Department of Population (Vladimir Iontsev, Irina Kalabikhina) participated in the work.

15 years ago (in 2004) the Tenth Annual Demographic Report, prepared by experts of the Center for Demography and Human Ecology headed by Anatoly Vishnevsky was published (Vishnevsky 2004). The first report was published in 1993. Five years ago (in 2014) the Twentieth Annual Demographic Report prepared by the Institute of Demography of the National Research University Higher School of Economics was published (Vishnevsky 2014). We look forward to the twenty-fifth anniversary report.

2019 is a jubilee year for our distinguished colleagues, whose names are well-known to the Russian demographic community and many foreign demographers.

• The 75th anniversary of Evgeny Andreev, PhD, Head of the International Laboratory of Population and Health Research at Higher School of Economics.
• The 70th anniversary of Aleksandr Alekseev, Doctor in Geography, Professor of the Department of Economic and Social Demography of Russia of the Faculty of Geography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
• The 70th anniversary of Evgeny Krasinets, PhD, Head of the Laboratory of Migration Studies of the Institute of Social and Economic Studies of Population of the Russian Academy of Sciences, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1971 (the first graduation of demographers).
• The 70th anniversary of Vladimir Mukomel, Doctor in Sociology, Head of the Department of Migration and Integration Studies of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1971.
• The 70th anniversary of Sergey Smidovich, PhD, Researcher of the Laboratory of Population Economics and Demography of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, former Head of the Migration Service of the city of Moscow, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1972.
• The 65th anniversary of Vladimir Arkhangelsky, PhD, Head of the Sector in the Laboratory of Population Economics and Demography of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
• The 60th anniversary of Sergey Zakharov, PhD, Deputy Director of the Institute of Demography at the Higher School of Economics.
• The anniversaries of the following colleagues were celebrated in 2019:
• Elena Bazhenova, PhD, Leading Researcher of the Center for Political Studies and Forecasts of the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1971.
• Galina Bondarskaya, PhD. For over 40 years (since 1963) she worked at the Department of Demography of the Research Institute of Statistics of the Central Statistical Office of the USSR. Author of the monograph “Fertility in the USSR (ethno-demographic aspect)” Moscow, 1977.
• Aleksandra Grishanova, PhD, Leading Researcher of the Center for Social Demography of Institute for Socio-Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1971.
• Natalia Dzhanaeva, PhD, Scientific Secretary of the Laboratory of Population Economics and Demography of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1976.
• Valentina Dobrokhlev, Doctor in Economics, Professor, Chief Researcher and Head of the Laboratory of Gender Problems of the Institute of Social and Economic Studies of Population of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
• Zhanna Zayonchkovskaya, Ph.D., demographer, leading expert of the Institute of Social Policy at the Higher School of Economics.
• Alla Ivanova, Doctor in Economics, Professor, Head of the Department of Health and Self-preservation Behavior of the Institute for Socio-Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
• Irina Ivakhnyuk, Doctor in Economics, Professor of the Department of Population of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (until 2016) , graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1976.
• Irina Kalabikhina, Doctor in Economics, Professor, Head of the Department of Population of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1991. Founder and Editor-in-chief of the “Population and Economics” journal.
• Natalya Kalmykova, PhD, Associate Professor at the Department of Population of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1987.
• Svetlana Savelyeva (Polenova), Doctor in Economics, Professor, Head of the Department of Economics and Management of Marine Activities of the Maritime Institute of the Murmansk State Technical University, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1971.
• Viktoria Sakevich, PhD, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Demography of the Higher School of Economics, graduate of the special department “Demography” at the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
• Olga Chudinovskikh, PhD, Head of the Laboratory of Population Economics and Demography at the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, graduate of the MSU Department of Population 1991.

We wish our colleagues who have celebrated their anniversaries in 2019 health and professional longevity.

Let us recall the anniversaries and round dates of scientists of different epochs and generations who contributed to the study of population.

In 2019, the following anniversaries were celebrated (in preparation of this section we addressed to the “Demographic Encyclopedia” 2013, “Population” Encyclopedic Dictionary 1994, as well as materials from Demoscope-Weekly for 2019):

350 years since the death of John Graunt (1620-1674), whose work “Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality in London” (1662), marked the beginning of research in population reproduction.

The 240th anniversary of Benjamin Gompertz (1779-1866), the British actuary. In 1825 he suggested the “law of human mortality”, which rests on two assumptions: first, the intensity of mortality is constant while number of alive persons decreases exponentially, and second, a person’s resistance to death decreases as his years increase. The Gompertz model for determining the force of death was later improved by William Makeham, who introduced an additional component — the intensity of mortality from age-free causes. The Gomperz-Makeham model is used for equalization and extrapolation of life tables for older ages.

The 230th anniversary of Konstantin Arsenyev (1789-1865), Academician, statistician, historian, geographer, one of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society (1845). In the work “Development of statistics of the Russian State (Part 1 “The state of population”, 1818) Konstantin Arsenyev calculated the sex ratio in the population of Russia, the ratio of the number of births and deaths to the number of inhabitants, the ratio of the number of births to the number of deaths, etc. He contributed to historical demography. In the “Statistical Essays of Russia” (1848) he proved the reasonability of economic regionalization of Russia.

The 220th anniversary of Jean Claude Achille Guillard (1799-1875), French statistician, demographer and naturalist. He calculated life tables for France for 1840-1849 by the improved method of E. Halley. He is considered the author of the term “demography”. Author of the book “Elements of Human Statistics, or Comparative Demography” (1856). He understood demography in a broad sense as “natural and social history of mankind”, and in a narrow sense as “mathematical knowledge of populations, their common movement, physical, civil, intellectual and moral state”, or as “mathematical geography of the human race”.

The 215th anniversary of Pierre François Ferhulst (1804-1849), Belgian mathematician, President of the Belgian Academy of Sciences (1948). Exploring different hypotheses of population growth, he was looking for a growth model that takes into account the obstacles to this growth. He called the identified model logistic. He made calculations for Belgium and France.

The 200th anniversary of Gottfried Aachenwall (1719-1772), German professor, statistician, social scientist. He systemized population data of a number of European countries, recommended to conduct population censuses and encourage population growth.

The 200th anniversary of Konstantin Veselovsky (1819-1901), academician, economist, statistician, climatologist. He studied population allocation and density, age structure, causes of morbidity and mortality. He is the author of the papers “On the density of population of European Russia” (1845), “On the influence of seasons on human health and life” (1847), “On distribution of the population of Russia by age” (1861), etc.

The 185th anniversary of Dmitry Mendeleev (1834-1907), Russian scientist, academician, author of the periodic table. In his papers “The Sacred Thoughts” (1903-1905) and “Towards Understanding Russia” (1906) on the basis of the data of the first census of Russia in 1897, Mendeleev made a forecast of population growth until the end of the twentieth century. He studied the dynamics of the world population since ancient times, predicted a possible stabilization of the population size in the future. He touched upon the population ageing and the burden of the economically active population by children and the elderly. He argued in favour of increasing the population of Russia.

The 165th anniversary of Johannes Rahts (1854-1933), German mathematician and demographer, author of the formula for calculating infant mortality, taking into account the number of births in the generations, which the infants who died this year belong to.

The 155th anniversary of Aleksandr Kaufman (1864-1919), statistician, Doctor of sciences (1908), professor, public figure, one of the theorists of statistical science in Russia. A significant part of Kaufman’s work deals with the agrarian overpopulation of Russian rural areas after the 1861 reform. He also worked out the concept of demographic capacity of newly-developed agricultural territories. Author of the work “Resettlement and Colonization” (St. Petersburg, 1905).

The 150th anniversary of Arthur Lyon Bowley (1869-1957), English economist, mathematician, statistician, researcher of living conditions and poverty. In the book “Family Expenditure”, he introduced an “equivalence scale” and laid the foundation for econometric studies on household consumer behaviour.

The 150th anniversary of Zachary Frankel (1869-1970), Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, specialist in the field of social hygiene, sanitary statistics, gerontology. He studied the influence of factors of human longevity and prospects of life prolongation. Author of the book “Extension of Life and Active Old Age” (Moscow, 1949).

The 145th anniversary of Adolf Landry (1874-1956), French demographer. He studied the dependence of population growth on socio-economic development, formulated the concept of the demographic revolution (1909). Author of the book “Demographic Revolution” (1934).

The 145th anniversary of Olympy Kvitkin (1874-1937), statistician and demographer. He directed the development of the 1926 Population Census program, its conducting and publication of the results. He developed a methodology for the use of family card in the census. He was the Head of the Census Bureau attached to the State Planning Committee (Gosplan) of the USSR. He was one of the authors of the draft of the 1937 Population Census. After that census he was accused of initiating rumors about a sharp decrease in the population size of the USSR, arrested and executed in September 1937.

The 145th anniversary of Aleksandr Chouprov (1874-1926), statistician, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He studied sex ratio among newborns, the causes of variations in secondary sex ratios, and the impact of war on marriage, fertility, mortality and age and sex composition of the population of European countries.

The 140th anniversary of Pearl Raymond (1879-1940), American statistician, biologist and demographer. The first President of the International Union for Scientific Studies in Population (IUSSP) (1928-1931). Together with L. Reed in the 1920s he proposed to forecast population growth by the logistic curve. He made calculations for the US and some European countries.

The 135th anniversary of Corrado Gini (1884-1966), Italian statistician, sociologist and demographer. He founded the Faculty of Statistics, Demography and Insurance Sciences at the University of Rome. In 1929 he founded the Italian Committee for Population Studies, which published the “Genus” Journal (since 1934), and organized the first congress on population. He is the author of one of the first forecasts of the population of Italy. The coefficient that measures inequality in income distribution bears his name.

The 135th anniversary of Wilhelm Winkler (1884-1984), Austrian statistician and demographer. Author of the basic course on demography, published in 1956. Vice-President of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), organizer of the International Population Conference in Vienna (1959). With his participation, the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences was established. Author of the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary. Introduced the term “demometry”. He proposed to counteract decline in fertility by measures of tax policy: stimulate marriages and increase taxes on single persons.

The 135the anniversary of Fyodor Markuzon (1884-1957), Russian statistician and demographer. He was engaged in social insurance statistics, studied occupational morbidity and mortality. He estimated the dynamics of the world population from the beginning of our era to the middle of the twentieth century. Author of the book “Essays on sanitary statistics in pre-revolutionary Russia and in the USSR” (Moscow, 1961).

The 135th anniversary of Mikhail Ptukha (1884-1961), demographer and statistician, Academician, Director of the Institute of Demography of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (1919-1938). He developed methods of constructing life tables, studied ethnic differences in mortality. He made a great contribution to the study of the history of statistics and demography. He is the author of the books “Essays on the history of statistics of the 17-18 centuries” (1945), “Essays on statistics of population” (1960), and others.

The 130th anniversary of Lev Kaminsky (1889-1962), Doctor in Medical Sciences, Professor, expert in the field of sanitary and demographic statistics. Author of the books “Losses in past wars” (Moscow, 1947, in co-authorship with Sergey Novoselsky), “Medical and demographic statistics” (Moscow, 1973), and others.

The 125th anniversary of Frank Lorimer (1894-1985), American demographer. Expert of the Committee on Population Studies of the League of Nations (first half of the 1940s), President of the American Population Association (1946-1947). Author of a monograph on the population of the USSR (1946).

The 125th anniversary of Innokenty Pisarev (1894-1966), demographer, statistician. He was one of the organizers of the 1939 Population Census. Author of the books “Population of the USSR” (Moscow, 1962), “Population and Labour in the USSR” (Moscow, 1966).

The 125th anniversary of Boleslav Smulevich (1894-1981), Doctor in Medical Sciences, PhD in Economics, sociologist, philosopher, specialist in the field of social hygiene and medical demography. Among his nearly 300 scientific works are: “Morbidity and mortality in the cities of the Belorussian SSR” (Minsk, 1928), “Population Statistics” (Moscow, 1956), “Criticism of bourgeois population theories and policy” (Moscow, 1959), “Problems of health and reproduction of population” (Moscow, 1963), “Criticism of bourgeois medico-sociological concepts” (Moscow, 1973), and others.

The 120th anniversary of Arkady Merkov (1899-1971), Doctor of Medical Sciences, PhD in Economics, expert in medical demography. He studied morbidity, mortality and life expectancy. He is the author of over 20 monographs and textbooks, including the textbook “Demographic statistics” (1959, 1965) for medical universities.

The 115th anniversary of Gunther Beyer (1904-1983), Dutch demographer of German origin, researcher of international migration, one of the founders of the European Association for Population Studies (EAPS). In memory of him, the EAPS Council established a Gunther Beyer Award for the best work of young scientists.

The 105th anniversary of Ilya Venetsky (1914-1981), Doctor in Economics, Professor, statistician, demographer. Head of the Department of Statistics in the Moscow Institute for Economics and Statistics (MESI) and the Head of the Sector of Sample Surveys at the Research Institute of the Central Statistical Office of the USSR. Author of the books “Mathematical methods in demography” (1971), “Statistical methods in demography” (1977), “Probability methods in demography” (1981), and others.

The 105th anniversary of Hannes Hyrenius (1914-1979), Swedish demographer, Head of the Demographic Institute at the University of Gothenburg (since 1959). He developed methods of demographic analysis, worked on predictions for small territories and the use of computers in demography. He studied possibilities of simulation modeling of population reproduction.

The 100th anniversary of Elena Samoilova (1919-1986), PhD, one of the first employees of the Laboratory of Population of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. For about 20 years she worked as a senior researcher in the Department of Population Economics and Socio-Demographic Development. Author of the monograph “Demography and Education” (Moscow, 1978).

The 100th anniversary of Aleksandra Semenova (1919-1985), PhD, associate professor, specialist in statistics and demography. Almost every demographer was familiar with Semenova’s Collection of Tasks on Population Statistics and Demography, published in 1957 and republished in 1978. Her main scientific interests were devoted to the calculation of demographic losses in the First World War, the development of a methodology for population forecasting taking into account migration, and the methods of constructing life tables.

The 90th anniversary of Boris Breyev (1929-2006), Doctor in Economics, Professor, one of the first employees of the Laboratory of Population of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. Since 1968 he worked at the Institute fir Economics and Statistics of rhe Russian Academy of Sciences. He wears the award of the Honored Scholar of the Russian Federation. He was a distinguished expert in the field of labour resources, employment and labour market.

The 90th anniversary of Elgizar Burnashev (1929-1996), one of the first research workers in the Laboratory of Population of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. Since 1965, he went up from the junior researcher to the Head of the Information and Bibliographic Sector. Expert in population issues in developing countries. Author and co-editor of the first bibliographies on population studies, member of the editorial board of the Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary (1985), scientific consultant and author of many articles in the “Population” Encyclopedic Dictionary (1994).

The 90th anniversary of Vladimir Vorobyov (1929-2003), Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, founder of the Siberian scientific school of population geography. Author of 10 monographs on the history of the population of Siberia, regional systems of settlement, natural and migration movement of the population, labour resources, problems of Siberian cities, etc.

The 85th anniversary of Stanislav Shatalin (1934-1997), Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, an expert in the field of economic and mathematical modelling, methods of analysis and planning of inter-sectoral relations. He put special attention to demographic factors, support for demographic education and demographic research.

The 85th anniversary of Valentina Steshenko (1934-2014), Doctor in Economics, Professor, founder of Ukrainian demography of the post-war period, prominent Soviet and Ukrainian demographer. For four decades she was the Head of the Department of Demography of the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. She is the author of 160 fundamental scientific works dealing with the subject of demography, patterns of population reproduction, mechanisms of interaction between demographic and socio-economic development, as well as population policy and population forecasting issues. Valentina Steshenko was the chief editor of scientific series “Demographic Notebooks” and “Demographic Studies”.

The 75th anniversary of Aleksey Shevyakov (1944-2011), Doctor in Economics, Professor, expert in the field of analysis and modelling of socio-economic processes, improvement of social policy. From 2004 to the last day of life Aleksey Sheviakov headed the Institute of Social and Economic Problems of Population of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Author of the books “Inequality, Economic Growth and Demography” (2008) and “Inequality as a Key Factor of Socio-economic Dynamics” (2008), “Myths and Realities of Social Policy” (2011). In these works new approaches to solving the problem of inequality, based on previously studied concepts of normal and excessive inequality, on modelling of possible variants of progressive taxation and their impact on poverty reduction are proposed.

The 70th anniversary of Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin (1949-2017), Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). He led the UNFPA in 2011-2017, simultaneously serving as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The 70th anniversary of Thomas James Trussell (1949-2018), an American demographer known for the model schedule of fertility and the contraceptive efficacy model. He was engaged in studying family planning, abortion policies and the cost-effectiveness of various methods of birth control, reproductive health demographics, divorce models, birth spacing; stable population theory; historical demography. He is the author of original works on fertility types and methods of indirect fertility estimation in conditions of incomplete data. He also worked on mortality estimation methods and on economic effects of fertility of teenagers.

In 2019, the following of our colleagues passed away:

Natalya Zvereva (4.06.1950-29.04.2019), Doctor in Economics, Honored Researcher of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Professor of the Department of Population of the Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, graduate of the Department 1972, student and co-author of Dmitry Valentey. After graduating the port-graduate course in 1975, she worked in the Laboratory of Population Studies, going from junior researcher to the Head of the Sector. In 2000 she defended her doctoral dissertation on “The study of population in the Russian science in the 1960-1980s: formation of the general theory of population”. Under the guidance of Natalya Zvereva 7 PhD theses and 1 doctoral dissertation have been defended. In 2017, she was awarded the gold medal of the IX Valentey Readings.

Aleksandr Kuzmin (1953-2019), leading researcher of the Center for Research and Socio-Economic Dynamics of the Institute of Economics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor in Sociology, Professor, author of the paper “Family in the Urals (demographic aspects of choosing a life path”), which formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation on sociology of the family (1997). Aleksandr Kuzmin was the founder and chairman of the organizing committee of the annual Ural Demographic Forum, he took active part in the development of concepts and programs of demographic policy for many territories of the Urals.

Lyubov Chuyko (1933-2019), distinguished Ukrainian demographer, PhD, expert in studying marriage and family. In 1968 she defended her thesis on “Marriage in Ukraine in the post-war period (statistical research)”. In 1966 she began to work in the Department of Demography of the Institute of Economics of the National Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, which was created in the same year on the initiative of Valentina Steshenko, where she went from a junior to a leading researcher and became a renowned specialist in demographic and gender research. Her main scientific interests were: theoretical understanding and demographic analysis of matrimonial processes and structures, problems of female employment and parenthood. In 2004-2006 she continued her scientific activity in the Department of Population Economics of the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Schofield Roger (1937–2019), a well-known English demographer, specialist in historical demography. The results of his research on the history of the British population have been published in numerous journal articles and books. From 1974 to 1994, he was Director of the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure and made a significant contribution to the development of British and international historical demography. Schofield was the President of the British Society for Population Studies in 1985-1987 and was elected a member of the British Academy in 1988.

Valery Vladimirovich Elizarov, PhD, scientific supervisor and leading researcher of the Laboratory of Population Economics and Demography, Faculty of Economics of Lomonosov Moscow State University. E-mail: elizarovvv@gmail.com