Suicide in Russia

Abstract

Russia and the former Soviet block countries hold the world leading position in suicide rate today and represent a very important exception of the well established correlation between national wealth and suicide rate. Russian industrialization after the Revolution resulted in dramatic growth of suicide rate, following well known pattern of western societies at the end of 19th century. However, while their suicide rate started to stagnate or decrease in the second half of the 20th century, in Russia it continued to progress. The curves profiles describing the evolution of all kinds of violent death (accidents, alcoholism, homicide, suicide) show an astonishing paralellism and are a part of the whole 'sanitary crisis' which is syntetically expressed in the shortening of average lifetime. This sanitary crisis is in itself the consequence of deep deregulation in Soviet society functioning, generated far before its political collaps in 1989.

Rusija i zemlje bivšeg sovjetskog bloka imaju danas najviše stope samoubistva u svetu čineći značajno odstupanje od stabilne korelacije između bogatstva zemlje i samoubistva. Industrijalizacija Rusije nakon Revolucije rezultirala je dramatičnim usponom stope samoubistva, slično industrijalizaciji Zapada krajem 19. veka. Ali, za razliku od razvijenog Zapada gde je u drugoj polovini 20. veka stopa počela da stagnira ili opada, ona je u Rusiji nastavila da raste. Profili kriva koje opisuju evoluciju svih vrsta nasilnih smrti (nesrećni slučajevi, alkoholizam, homicid, suicid) pokazuju iznenađujući paralelizam i čine deo ukupne 'sanitarne krize' koja se sintetički izražava u smanjenju prosečne dužine života. Ona je i sama rezultat dubokih deregulacija u funkcionisanju sovjetskog društva, nastalih daleko pre njegovog političkog kolapsa 1989.