Of all the criticisms that can be made of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, by far the most damning is its failure to carry out the basic biological function of population replacement.

Far more Russians pass from the earth each year than are born. Only 21 countries in the whole world have a higher mortality rate than Russia, and its rate of 16/1,000 is double that of the United States. The mortality rate has risen steadily through Putin’s years in power (it is up nearly 15% since 2003), with the result that Russia experiences a net loss of up to 1 million from its population every year.

The only thing Putin has been able to think of to deal with that reality is to bribe Russian parents to have more children. This classic Russian “solution” is actually worse than the existing problem. People don’t want children, but they do want money. So they take the money, have the child — and then what happens? That child will be lucky to live to see his 18th birthday, and if he does he’ll certainly be impacted by the fact that the only reason he exists is because he got paid.

Meanwhile, nothing is done about Russia’s alarming mortality rate, which sees the average Russian man fail to reach his sixtieth year of life (Russia does not rank in the top 100 nations of the world for average male lifespan). From AIDS to smoking to house fires, Russia’s population is being wiped out by every scourge and disease imaginable, while the Kremlin ignores the problem and spends its cash buzzing America and Britain with strategic bombers and sending weaponry to the likes of Venezuela, Syria and Iran.

Here’s an overview of what’s happening to Russian children and their families as a result:

(1) 2 out of every 5 Russian children are victims of family violence

(2) 50,000 Russian children flee their homes each year

(3) 11,000 Russian children are currently imprisoned

(4) Last year alone, 2,000 Russian children were murdered by their parents

(5) 4.5 million Russian children live in single-parent homes without child support

(6) One Russian woman is murdered by her husband every 40 minutes

(7) Russia and Belarus lead the world in divorces

(8) One Russian commits suicide every ten minutes

(9)Russia has the fifth-highest murder rate on the planet

Russia’s divorce rate is one-third greater than the U.S. Its suicide rate is four times higher than that of the America’s, and its child and spousal murder rates are ten times higher.

Having liquidated opposition parties in parliament and most independent news media, the Russian people are largely ignorant of this looming crisis. Putin has not been challenged to provide a policy response, but has instead erected what Russians call a “Potemkin Village” — a snappy coat of paint on the outside, only rubble within.