The State of Marriages and Divorces in Republic of Kalmykia in the early 2000’s

Abstract

The author considers the statistical data concerned with the dynamics of marriages and divorces in Kalmykia at the beginning of the 21st century. These figures are compared with the socio-demographic phenomena in the second half of the 20th century. This period called a ‘double’ transition contributed a lot to changes and transformations of social and moral values. The main factors which caused them were the diffi cult socioeconomic situation in the country, problems which most people and households faced while adapting to the changing conditions of life. The 1st demographic transition is associated with the decrease in birthrate level in Russia where this decline began at a higher level and took place later than in the majority of developed countries. Most scholars attribute the beginning of the first demographic transition to the 60s of the 20thcentury in western countries and to the second half of the 80s and 90s in Russia. The author concludes that the second demographic transition which is going on in Russia at the present moment affects the state of marriages and the quantity of divorces in all its regions, for instance in Kalmykia. He emphasizes that the demographic processes occurring in the country reveal both the unfavourable socio-economic conditions in which young families live and the complex processes of transformation of the Russian family institution. Some attention is also paid to unregistered marriages data and birth statistics of children born out of wedlock.