Suicides in the former Soviet republics

Abstract

The suicide rate in the former Soviet Union rose from 17.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 1965 to 29.6 in 1984. In regions of long-standing traditional lifestyles, strong religious faith and multi-generation families (the Caucasus and central Asia), the suicide rate was low, whereas in regions with sociopolitical antagonisms (Baltic States) and forced social changes (Russia), it was high. A significant decline in the suicide rate (34.5%), from 29.6 to 19.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, occurred in 1984-1988 throughout the Soviet Union, in the hopeful period of social democratization and stiff restrictions on the sale of alcohol. Rates varied widely between different republics - from 1.8 in Armenia to 26.3 in Lithuania and 24.3 in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) in 1988. In contrast to the pattern in several countries in western Europe, the suicide rates in the Russian SFSR were much higher in the rural regions than in the urban ones.