Prevalence and statistics of suicides in Russia

Information on the frequency of suicides in Russia began to be selectively published in the open press only since 1988, so when analyzing the prevalence of suicides in the country, we can operate with indicators that have been counted since 1990. At the same time, it is this period that is of the greatest interest from the standpoint of the relationship between the social situation in the country and the number of suicides committed, since in the 1990s radical changes took place in all spheres of life in the country, which for the majority of the population were of the nature of massive stress.

The table shows the suicide rate in Russia in 1990-2001. An analysis of official data on the suicide rate during this period showed that in 1990 (the last year before the start of radical changes in the country) the suicide rate was 26.4 per 100,000 population, which only slightly exceeded the WHO “critical level” of 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 - some decrease in this indicator, but already from the following year there was a new rise, reaching a maximum in 1995 - 41.5 per 100,000. Then the frequency of suicides gradually decreased, returning in 1999 to the relatively favorable level of 1990, after which there was a new rise in the indicator to 39.6 per 100,000 in 2001. Such complex dynamics can be partially explained from the standpoint of the social changes that took place in the country during these years. The sharp rise in the suicide rate in 1991 was due to the fact that it was then that the most radical changes in the life of the country occurred, characterized by a change in the socio-economic formation, the collapse of the previous political regime, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, i.e. factors that have become a powerful stress for a significant part of the population.

In 1992, social hopes for the prospects of the reforms that had begun were reflected positively in the suicide rate. However, the unsatisfactory progress of the reforms and the lack of real improvement in life caused frustration and disappointment in the changes that were taking place, contributing to a new rise in the rate in 1994-1995. In 1996-1998, the suicide rate remained at approximately the same high level, and in 1999, it decreased due to the emergence of hopes in society associated with the arrival of a new leadership in the country.

The most difficult to explain from a social perspective is the next increase in the frequency of suicides in 2000-2001, when the situation in Russia began to gradually stabilize. Paradoxically, it is precisely with social stabilization that one can conditionally associate the new growth of the indicator. The fact is that as the socio-economic situation in the country improved, more traditional, microsocial factors (suicide-causing conflicts in the microsocial sphere) began to come to the forefront in the genesis of suicides, rather than macrosocial ones (as in the 90s), which, as it were, took up the "baton" from the factors of the social macroenvironment.

Such dynamics confirm the previously expressed opinion that the social situation of the country itself (and in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century it continues to be difficult) does not affect the frequency of suicides committed, but the provoking factor is periods of social crises, which was traced using the example of the last decade of the past century.

It should be noted that in terms of suicidology, the population of Russia does not represent a single population. This is due to significant ethnic, cultural, and economic characteristics of different regions of the country, which leave their mark on the formation and frequency of suicidal behavior. As a result, the spread of suicide rates in the regions reaches 84.4% (State Report on the 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. Then, in descending order, come the Northern, Ural, Far Eastern, West Siberian, Volga, Volga-Vyatka, Central, Northwestern, Central Black Earth, and North Caucasian regions, where the minimum level of suicides is registered.

The prevalence of suicides in some subjects of the Federation, representing each of the listed geographic regions, is presented in the table. The analysis of the data presented in this table, on the one hand, confirms the pronounced spread of suicide rates in different geographic regions of Russia. On the other hand, differences also exist within the same region. Thus, the suicide rate in the neighboring Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories differs by 2.7 times. This explains the special interest in the ethno-cultural aspects of the spread of suicides, which, all other things being equal, begin to have a decisive influence on the value of this indicator. This argument is confirmed by the low suicide rate in regions with a predominantly Muslim population (Ingushetia, Dagestan, etc.), which, as has already been shown, strictly follows the commandments of Islam on the inadmissibility of self-destruction.

Prevalence of suicides in some subjects of the Russian Federation located in different regions of the country

Region	Subject of the Federation	Suicide rate (per 100,000 population)
North Caucasian	Ingush Republic	0
	Karachay-Cherkess Republic	2.5
	Republic of Dagestan	4.9
	Stavropol Krai	15.4
	Krasnodar region	42.2
Central	Voronezh region	12.5
	Moscow	26.5
Northern	Komi Republic	47.4
Volga region	Chuvash Republic	48.7
	Kirov region	64.6
Far Eastern	Jewish Autonomous Region	60.2
Siberian	Republic of Buryatia	74.9
	Altai Republic	84.4
Ural	Udmurt Republic	77.0

The importance of studying the ethnocultural characteristics of suicides in Russia is enhanced by the fact that about 150 peoples live here, representing more than 20 ethnic groups with different cultural traditions.

The 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 of the population of Russia. Particular attention to the Finno-Ugric group is due to the fact that throughout the world its representatives are distinguished by an increased frequency of committing suicidal acts (Hungary, Finland, Estonia). In addition, it should be taken into account that the Finno-Ugric group is the third largest in Russia and numbers more than 3 million people.

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