Mortality in Russia: A public health crisis in two stages

Over the past fifteen years, there have been very wide fluctuations in life-expectancy figures in Russia. The marked increase noted in 1985-86 was followed by an equivalent drop, up until 1992. In 1993, the rates showed a further deterioration. These fluctuations stem basically from variations in mortality rates among the active population. They are closely linked, on the one hand, with Gorbachev's anti-alcoholism measures of 1985, and on the other with the worsening socio-economic conditions of recent years. However, this pattern of development is part of a long-term negative trend. In Russia, as in other Eastern European countries, there has been a deterioration in public health conditions since the middle sixties, despite the fact that these countries have succeeded in checking the rise in cardio-vascular illnesses and cancer. In this context, the recent crisis may be interpreted as the continuation of the trend of the last three decades.