President Vladimir Putin's state of the nation address touched on many important issues – the need to encourage small business, the crippling nature of Russian bureaucracy and the necessity for stable economic growth, among others – but one thing was conspicuous in its absence. And that one thing is one of the most critical problems facing Russia today.

In last year's address, Putin singled out Russia's worrying demographic crisis as the country's single most pressing problem, one that will have numerous social repercussions. Russia's population has dropped by more than 5 million people since 1991 – the greatest peacetime population decline recorded in an industrialized country. Although recent years have seen an increase in the birthrate, it is still greatly exceeded by mortality, and it does not appear that immigration will be able to make up the difference – it is certainly not encouraged, at any rate. Even the most optimistic forecasts anticipate that the population will fall by quite a sizable amount in the coming decades.

This will be a serious burden on the country and its economy. Not only is the Russian workforce shrinking, the ratio of workers to pensioners will soon be 1:1. Moreover, Russia's army will soon face a serious shortage of conscript-aged young men. A shrinking population can be a bad thing in developed countries like Italy, where the number of native inhabitants is also dropping. But it can be calamitous for a country whose economy is already poorly balanced and unstable.

Last year, Putin correctly identified the problem and said it was urgent that the government do something about it. This year, however, he did not so much as mention population issues. Is it because he has realized that the state can do very little to encourage population growth directly, as it is based on economic growth – or is he simply admitting defeat?