Patterns of Cohort Mortality of the Soviet Population

This study uses newly published Soviet mortality data to investigate cohort effects on mortality. Looking at reported age- specific death rates (ASDR's) for five-year age groups for ages 5 through 59, the authors conclude that a number of cohort effects are sensible in light of Soviet history. Major findings are:

(1) Both males and females born during World War II experienced elevated cohort mortality. This was especially true in the European parts of the Soviet Union, which experienced the effects of the War most severely.

(2) Males who were in early adolescence during World War II also experienced elevated cohort mortality. Females who were adolescents or young adults during World War II experienced somewhat elevated cohort mortality. These effects were especially striking in the European parts of the Soviet Union.

(3) There was no evidence of elevated cohort mortality of males of combatant age during World War II.

(4) Females who were born in Central Asia from the mid-1920s through 1944 experienced elevated cohort mortality. This may have been an indirect consequence of efforts by Soviet authorities to effectively integrate Central Asia into the Soviet Union.