Trends and Determinants of Abortion in Russia

Master's thesis is devoted to the study of abortion in Russia. The paper aims to analyze the dynamics of abortion prevalence, including the age of women and the types of abortion, as well as to identify socio-demographic factors affecting the decision of women to terminate pregnancy. The analysis is based on official statistics and the results of the sample survey "Russian monitoring of the economic situation and health of the population of HSE". The first Chapter discusses the features of the state registration of interrupted pregnancies in Russia, in particular, changes in the forms of statistical observation that have occurred since the 1990s. The history of demographic studies of abortion in our country, based on both state statistics and sample surveys (regional and national) is described. The second Chapter analyzes the dynamics of abortion in the post-Soviet period, while drawing a parallel with the changes in statistical accounting. The main characteristics of abortion according to official statistics are considered: age structure and structure by type of abortion: medical, spontaneous, social and medical indications, clandestine, at different stages of pregnancy. International comparisons are given. The third Chapter analyzes the dynamics of the main indicators of abortion, calculated on the basis of a sample survey covering the time period from the 1990s to 2017. The factors influencing the likelihood of abortion are considered in details.