Russian President Vladimir Putin has been cautioned about a deepening demographic crisis that threatens to leave Russia short of nearly 11 million workers by 2030, exacerbating economic challenges amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. During a cabinet meeting on July 15, 2025, Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov highlighted the urgent need to integrate 10.9 million people into the economy to replace 10.1 million retirees and fill 800,000 new jobs, according to reports from Russian state media and the Kremlin. The crisis stems from a combination of low birth rates, high mortality, and significant war-related losses. In 2024, Russia recorded just 1.22 million births—the lowest since 1999—while deaths rose by 3.3% to 1.82 million. The fertility rate, at 1.4 births per woman in 2023,...