Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Europe and Eurasia))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Tsypkin, Mikhail. "March 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 23, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Russia, vodka, demographics, alcoholism Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-63). Also available in print.

ix, 53 p. : ill. / Russian men are over two and a half times more likely to die before 60 than are Russian women. Aggregate national indicators of state policy, health care and individual behavior are examined in a time-series analysis of male and female mortality rates from 1990 to 2008. Data come from the Russian State Statistical Office (Goskomstat) and the World Bank. There is a debate in both demographic literature and that on post-Soviet transition about changes in mortality in post-socialist society. Hypotheses about the relative impact of individual behavior such as alcohol consumption, the effect of changes to the healthcare system and economic stability are studied. A goal of this study is to understand the relative contribution of each factor to gender-based inequality in mortality rates. The findings show that the different types of variables - health care, the economy and human behavior - vary in their level of significance and in effect. / Committee in charge: Caleb Southworth, Chairperson; Julie Hessler, Member