Famine in Ukraine in the first half of the twentieth century

The Institute of Demography and Social Studies, Institute of the Ukrainian History, Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University, The National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy"

International Conference

Famines in Ukraine in the first half of the twentieth century (1921-1923, 1932-1933, 1946-1947): the causes and consequences

20-21 November 2013 Kiev

The purpose of the conference:

Share the results of research of the causes and consequences of famines in Ukraine in the first half of the twentieth century.
Major topis:
- Demographic consequences of the famine in Ukraine
- Historical antecedents and consequences of famine in Ukraine
- Legal estimates
- Social and psychological effects of starvation
- Regional aspects of the famines in the USSR

Working languages: Ukrainian, Russian, English.
To participate in the conference a candidate should send: the application form and an abstract to: CN2013@ukr.net (subj: conference).
Deadline for applications  -  May 31, 2013
Conference proceedings will be published. The organizing committee reserves the right to select papers for publication. Accepted authors will be notified by July 1, 2013.

Current News: http://www.nas.gov.ua (after March 15, 2013)

more details in Russian see here

Divergent Trends in Abortion and Birth Control Practices in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine

Context

The last decade witnessed growing differences in abortion dynamics in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine despite demographic, social, and historical similarities of these nations. This paper investigates changes in birth control practices in the three countries and searches for an explanation of the diverging trends in abortion.

Methods

Official abortion and contraceptive use statistics, provided by national statistical agencies, were analysed. Respective laws and other legal documents were examined and compared between the three countries. To disclose inter-country differences in prevalence of the modern methods of contraception and its association with major demographic and social factors, an analysis of data from national sample surveys was performed, including binary logistic regression.

Results

The growing gap in abortion rate in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine is a genuine phenomenon, not a statistical artefact. The examination of abortion and prevalence of contraception based on official statistics and three national sample surveys did not reveal any unambiguous factors that could explain differences in abortion dynamics in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. However, it is very likely that the cause of the inter-country discrepancies lies in contraceptive behavior itself, in adequacies of contraceptive knowledge and practices. Additionally, large differences in government policies, which are very important in shaping contraceptive practices of the population, were detected.

Conclusion

Since the end of the 1990s, the Russian government switched to archaic ideology in the area of reproductive health and family planning and neglects evidence-based arguments. Such an extreme turn in the governmental position is not observed in Belarus or Ukraine. This is an important factor contributing to the slowdown in the decrease of abortion rates in Russia. 

Denisov BP, Sakevich VI, Jasilioniene A (2012) Divergent Trends in Abortion and Birth Control Practices in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49986. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049986