[Characteristic of mortality in the Russian Federation]

The objective of the present work was to estimate the overall mortality in the Russian Federation and to elucidate the structure and characteristics of violent and non-violent mortality in this country. The study is largely based on the materials of reports on the activities of local bureaus of forensic medical expertise for the period from 2003 to 2008; in addition, the data from the official demographic and statistical yearbooks issued by the Russian State Statistical Committee (Goskomstat) in 2008-2009 were used. It is shown that cardiovascular pathology appears to be currently the leading cause of general mortality in the Russian Federation. A substantial fraction in the structure of general mortality is constituted by mechanical injuries most of which are inflicted in car accidents. More than half of the fatal cases caused by external factors and around one third of the deaths from cardiovascular diseases are associated with alcohol intoxication. Statistical treatment of the results of analysis conducted in the present study provided materials for the development of recommendations designed to improve the demographic situation in the Russian Federation.