At the end of the nineteenth century, life expectancy in Russia was 32 years, compared to 47 years in France and the United States. By 1938 the gap had increased: life expectancy was 43 years in Russia, while in France it had reached 59 years and in the United States over 63 years.

Shkolnikov, V., Mesle, F. and Vallin J. “Health crisis in Russia: Recent

trends in life expectancy and causes of death from 1970 to 1993” (Parts

I and II), Population: An English Selection, Vol. 8, 1996.