Suicide in Russia is a significant national

social issue A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

, with the suicide rate at 10.6 suicides per 100.000 people. In 2021, the suicide rate in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

was 10.7 per 100,000 people, according to national sources, down from 39.1 in 2000 and 41.4 in 1995. Since 2002 the number of suicides has fallen in each consecutive year and has dropped to its lowest level in more than 50 years (in 1965, the number of suicides was 27,158).

History

In the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and for a long time in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, a complete record of suicides was not kept. The studies covered individual cities or regions and later the urban population. In 1956, under

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

, the USSR began to collect data on suicides for the entire population of the country. In May 1985,

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

came to power, and the anti-alcohol campaign with partial prohibition began almost simultaneously. For a couple of years, the number of suicides fell, but the deterioration of the socio-economic situation of the country by the end of the 1980s reversed the trend. The

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, market reforms, the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...

, and falling incomes among the population resulted in an increase in suicide mortality, reaching peak levels in 1994 and 1995. During the last years, as a consequence of the change in the culture of alcohol consumption in the country, Russians began to consume more

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

, and other drinks with less alcohol. The decline in strong and popular

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

sales is similar to the decrease in the number of suicides in the country. At the end of 2015, suicide rates rated as high were recorded in 37 of the 85 regions. These are, above all, the regions in the north, the Urals,

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, and the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. The highest suicide rates were in the

Altai Republic The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...

, the Transbaikal, the

Jewish Autonomous Oblast The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO) is a federal subject of Russia in the far east of the country, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast in Russia and Heilongjiang province in China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan. ...

, Buryatia, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, with large indigenous populations. Eighteen regions have a suicide rate classified as low, including the two main cities of Russia:

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Suicide rate per 100 000 population

Alcohol and suicide

Heavy alcohol use is a significant factor in the suicide rate, with an estimated half of all suicides correlated with alcohol abuse.Demoscope - Demographic, social and economic consequences of alcohol abuse in Russia
Demoscope Retrieved on 6 July 2010 Russia's suicide rate has declined since the 1990s, alongside per capita alcohol consumption, despite the economic crisis since then; therefore it is believed that alcohol consumption is more of a factor than economic conditions.

References

{{Asia topic , prefix=Suicide in Society of Russia

History

Alcohol and suicide

See also

References