For all the advances in weaponry, including the first hypersonic missile, the poor-quality of public health directly “undermines the countryʼs economic development.” Their aging population and declining birth rates contribute to the low overall health status and low life expectancy. More than two million Russian men are considered to be HIV positive and extremely high multi-drug resistant TB persists. The direct connection between the public health crisis and Russiaʼs economic potential is clear. It is generally accepted that the highly productive educated soviets leave the country largely for reasons having to do with the deteriorating political freedoms in the country. Failure to tackle Russiaʼs huge public health problems is likely to exacerbate the brain drain already underway. It is estimated that up to 2010, more than 1.25 million Russians emigrated. That represents an even greater number than those who left after the collapse of the Soviet Union.72,73