The theory and practice of psychiatry in the Soviet Union

Abstract

In this paper I shall present some of the salient features of Soviet psychiatry. I shall first explore the main currents in the history of Russian and Soviet psychiatry, which provide the foundation for the contemporary theory and practice of psychiatry in the Soviet Union. This will be followed by a discussion of the training and research interests of the Soviet psychiatric profession. Much of this analysis is based on both the published Soviet psychiatric literature and interviews with psychiatrists from the Soviet Union, which I have been conducting over the last several years.