The former Soviet Union entered the twentieth century as a conglomerate of life-styles, religions, and cultures. During the course of the century, socioeconomic development started at different times and proceeded differently in different regions and in various sociodemographic groups. Today the western and northern parts of the former Soviet Union have the demographic characteristics of a developed country while the Central Asian republics share the demographic patterns of developing countries.

This book provides an overview of demographic trends and patterns in the republics of the Soviet Union. Presenting data evaluated by leading Soviet and Western demographers, much of it only recently available, the book forms the first international compendium of demographic research on the former USSR. With the exception of migration (on which there is insufficient data) the book provides a comprehensive and detailed review of Soviet demographic change - fertility, marriage and the family, mortality, and age structure - through the twentieth century.