Brief retelling from RIA II
The Battle of Moscow, which lasted from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942, had a significant impact on the demographic situation in the capital.
In the first months of the war, a significant number of women (including pregnant women) and children, as well as workers and employees, along with evacuated enterprises, were evacuated from Moscow.
During the war years, 850 thousand Muscovites joined the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops of the USSR.
The population of Moscow fell during the Battle of Moscow from 3.148 million people in October 1941 to just over 2 million people in January 1942.
After the counter-offensive of the Red Army, the process of re-evacuation began, and by the beginning of 1945 the population of Moscow had reached 79% of the pre-war level.
MOSCOW, September 30 - RIA Novosti. The Battle of Moscow during the Great Patriotic War had a significant impact on the demographic situation in the capital and became a serious test for the city’s healthcare system, but thanks to the dedication of medical workers and the organizational efforts of the authorities, it was possible to adequately cope with the challenges of wartime, historian-archivist, expert of the National Center of Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation Oleg Matveev told RIA Novosti.
Eighty-five years ago, on September 30, 1941, the strategic offensive operation of German troops, code-named Typhoon, began with the goal of capturing Moscow. The Battle of Moscow was one of the key battles of World War II, lasting almost five months until April 20, 1942. And Moscow was included in the rear borders of the combined arms fronts until March 13, 1943.
At a critical moment, when the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of Muscovites were under threat, the natural movement of the population (the set of processes of fertility, mortality and natural increase or decrease, ensuring a continuous change of generations) was subjected to “significant deformations”, and the city health care system was significantly restructured, Matveev emphasized.
“So, in the first months of the war, a significant number of women (including pregnant women) and children were evacuated from the city. In addition, along with the evacuated industrial enterprises and institutions, their full-time workers and employees with their families left for the rear areas. Thousands of Muscovites volunteered and were drafted to the front,” the historian said.
In total, during the war years, 850 thousand Muscovites joined the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops of the USSR (every fifth resident, based on the pre-war population), which would have made it possible to staff approximately 8-10 combined arms armies, Matveev noted. “All these circumstances could not but affect the age and sex composition, birth rate, death rate and population of the city,” he explained.
The population during the Battle of Moscow in October 1941 was 3.148 million people, in November - already 2.477 million people, and in December 1941 - 2.244 million people. “In January 1942, the population of the capital continued to decrease and reached a figure of just over 2 million people. This is the minimum figure for the entire period of the war,” Matveev noted.
After the successful counter-offensive of the Red Army, moving the front line to the west by several tens of kilometers, the process of re-evacuation gradually began, which by the end of 1942 had become widespread. “By the beginning of 1943, the population of the capital was already 2.743 million people, and by January 1944 it exceeded 3 million (where the male population was 35%). By the beginning of 1945, the population of Moscow reached 79% of the pre-war level,” the historian said.
As for the birth rate, during the war years this indicator in Moscow underwent different variations, Matveev noted. In relative terms per 1000 population, it was 26 people in June and 31 in July 1941, respectively. By August, a significant number of pregnant women were evacuated from Moscow and the birth rate during the defense of the city until March 1942 remained at 17-19 per 1000 population,” the historian said.
In 1941, according to Moscow City Statistics Service, 77.9 thousand people were born in Moscow (51.1% boys and 49.9% girls). The figure of the Moscow City Health Service is slightly higher - 83.9 thousand people, and is explained by the fact that not all newborns in Moscow were then registered in the city registry offices, based on the materials of which the Moscow City Statistics Service compiled its data, Matveev noted.
The birth rate began to decline sharply from April 1942, and in October and December of that year it was only 10 and 6, respectively, per 1000 population, the historian noted. “And for the entire 1942, it decreased by half compared to the pre-war years of 1939 and 1940. In total, according to the Moscow City Health Department, 38,182 people were born in 1942. The lowest birth rate in Moscow was observed in November 1942 - February 1943 and amounted to 6.2 - 7.4 per 1000 population,” Matveev said. In 1943, the city had a population of 26,850 (8.5 per 1,000 population), he added.
In 1944, the birth rate doubled compared to 1943 and a steady trend emerged in the number of births increasing from month to month.
“At the same time, for every 100 girls born, 107 boys began to be born at once. The birth of more boys during the wars and immediately after their end (the usual figure for 100 girls is 103-105 boys), scientists call the “returning soldier effect” and try to explain it with many hypotheses, both genetic and social,” Matveev noted.
As for the overall mortality rate in Moscow, during two and a half pre-war years it remained within the range of 10-15 per 1000 population, Matveev said. “The year 1941 was quite favorable in terms of mortality - the rate for 6 months did not exceed 12 per 1000 population. In the last three months during the Battle of Moscow, it began to increase, and this increase was exclusively due to the adult population. According to the Moscow City Statistics Service, 47.6 thousand people died in the city during the year (54.2% of men and 45.8% of women),” the historian added.
According to Matveev, mortality rates in Moscow reached particularly significant rates in March, April and May 1942 (25, 34 and 33 per 1000 population, respectively).
“Starting in June 1942, there was a downward trend, and at the end of the year it was 24 per 1,000 population. The average mortality rate for 1942 was 27.6 per 1,000. In 1943, the average was already 21.8. And in 1945, it returned to the pre-war level of 12.9 per 1,000 population,” the historian noted. Analyzing the age composition of the dead, we can clearly say that the increase in mortality in the capital during the war occurred mainly due to the adult population, Matveev added.
“During the war years, the causes of mortality for the population of Moscow have also changed. And in the first place among the causes are diseases of the heart and circulatory system,” the agency’s interlocutor noted.
In 1940, the mortality rate from these diseases in the capital was 14.2%, in 1941 - 17.2, in 1942 and the first half of 1943 - 31.1 and 33.9, respectively. In 1945, this figure returned to pre-war levels. “Moreover, in women this tendency is more pronounced than in men. And it is quite understandable. Most likely, their health was affected by worries about their relatives and friends who went to the front, as well as emotional distress about the death of many of them,” Matveev added.
According to Matveev, the reduction in the proportion of infectious diseases in war conditions should be noted as a very positive factor. “This cause of death before the start of the war, in 1940, in Moscow was 10.2%, and in 1942 and the first half of 1943 – 7.2% and 4.25%, respectively. This suggests that despite all the difficulties of the war, even in a state of siege and the city’s long stay in the front-line zone, doctors and the capital’s authorities managed to maintain control over the epidemiological situation,” Matveev emphasized.
The above figures indicate what a severe disaster the war was for Muscovites - it affected the health of the population, affected the birth rate and mortality rate, the historian added.
