Prevalence and statistics of suicides in Russia

Information on the incidence of suicides in Russia has been selectively published in the open press only since 1988, therefore, when analyzing the prevalence of suicides in the country, we can operate on indicators that have been counting since 1990. At the same time, this period is of the greatest interest from the point of view of the relationship between the social situation in the country and the number of committed suicides, because in the 90 years, radical changes took place in all spheres of life in the country, which for most of the population had a pattern of massive stress.

The table shows the rates of suicide in Russia in 1990-2001. An analysis of official data on the incidence of suicide during this period showed that in 1990 (this was the last year before the beginning of radical changes in the country), the suicide rate was 26.4 per 100 000 population, which only slightly exceeded WHO's "critical level" , equal to 20 cases.

Dynamics of suicide frequency in Russia in 1990-2001.

Year	Per 100 000 population	Year	Per 100 000 population
1990	26.4	1996	39.5
1991	40.1	1997	37.7
1992	31.1	1998	35.5
1993	36.0	1999	26.4
1994	42.1	2000	39.3
1995	41.5	2001	39.6

In 1991 there was a sharp (1.5 times) increase in the number of suicides, in 1992 - a slight decrease in this indicator, but already from next year there is a new recovery, reaching a maximum in 1995 - 41.5 per 100 000. Then the incidence of suicides gradually decreases, returning in 1999 to a relatively favorable level in 1990, after which the new increase of the indicator is quite unexpectedly increased to 39.6 per 100,000 in 2001. Such complex dynamics can be partially explained in terms of social changes, which took place in these years in the country. The sharp increase in the incidence of suicides in 1991 was due to the fact that it was then that the most radical changes occurred in the country's life, characterized by a change in socio-economic formation, the collapse of the former political regime, the collapse of the Soviet Union, i.e. The factors that were a powerful stress for a large part of the population.

In 1992, the social hopes for the prospects of the reforms started are positively reflected in the level of the suicide rate. However, the unsatisfactory course of reforms and the lack of a real improvement in life cause frustration and disappointment in the changes that are occurring, contributing to a new rise in the indicator in 1994-1995. In 1996-1998 years. The suicide rate is kept at about one high level, and in 1999, its decline is due to the appearance in society of the hopes associated with the arrival of the new leadership of the country.

The most difficult to explain from the social standpoint is another rise in the incidence of suicide in 2000-2001, when the situation in Russia began to gradually stabilize. Paradoxically, it is with social stabilization that the new growth of the indicator can be conditionally linked. The point is that as the socio-economic situation in the country improves, not macrosocial (as in the 90s), but more traditional, microsocial factors (suicidal-related conflicts in the microsocial sphere) that as would take a "baton" from the factors of the social macro environment.

Such dynamics confirms the opinion expressed earlier that the social position of the country in itself (and in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century it continues to be complicated) does not affect the frequency of committed suicides, the provoking factor is the periods of public crises, which was traced for the last decade the last century.

It should be noted that in the suicidological respect the population of Russia does not represent a single aggregate. This is due to the significant ethnic, cultural, economic characteristics of various regions of the country, which affect the formation and frequency of suicidal behavior. As a result, the spread of the suicide rate in the regions reaches 84.4% (State report on the state of health of the population of the Russian Federation in 1998). At the same time, the prevalence of suicides is highest in the East Siberian region. Further in decreasing order followed the Northern, Ural, Far Eastern, West Siberian, Volga, Volgo-Vyatka, Central, North-Western, Central Black Earth and North Caucasus regions, where the minimum level of suicides is recorded.

The prevalence of suicides in some constituent entities of the Federation, representing each of the listed geographic regions, is presented in the table. The analysis of the data given in this table, on the one hand, confirms the pronounced dispersion of suicide rates in various geographical regions of Russia. On the other hand, there are differences within the same region. Thus, the incidence of suicides in the neighboring Stavropol and Krasnodar Krai is 2.7 times different. This is due to a special interest in the ethno-cultural aspects of the spread of suicides, which, other things being equal, begin to exert a decisive influence on the magnitude of this indicator. This argument is supported by a low incidence of suicide in regions with predominantly Muslim populations (Ingushetia, Dagestan, etc.), which, as already shown, clearly follows the teachings of Islam on the inadmissibility of unauthorized withdrawal from life.

The prevalence of suicides in some regions of the Russian Federation located in different regions of the country

Region	Subject of the federation	The frequency of suicide (per 100 000 population)
North-Caucasian	Ingush Republic	0
	Karachay-Cherkess Republic	2.5
	The Republic of Dagestan	4.9
	Stavropol region	15.4
	Krasnodar region	42.2
Central	Voronezh region	12.5
	Moscow	26.5
Northern	Komi Republic	47.4
Povolzhsky	Chuvash Republic	48.7
	Kirov region	64.6
Far Eastern	Jewish Autonomous Region	60.2
Siberian	The Republic of Buryatia	74.9
	Altai Republic	84.4
The Urals	Udmurt republic	77.0

The importance of studying the ethnocultural characteristics of suicides in Russia is strengthened due to the fact that there are about 150 peoples living here, representing more than 20 ethnic groups that differ in different cultural traditions.

Further presentation of the materials will be based on the results of a comparative study of suicides in the Finno-Ugric and Slavic ethnic groups in Russia. Particular attention to the Finno-Ugric group is due to the fact that throughout the world its representatives are characterized by an increased frequency of suicidal actions (Hungary, Finland, Estonia). In addition, it should be borne in mind that the Finno-Ugric group is the third largest in Russia and has more than 3 million people.

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