Regional Differences in the Distribution of Suicide in the Former Soviet Union During Perestroika, 1984-1990

During 1984-90 the former USSR consisted of 15 republics. Each year approximately 45-50,000 males & 14-15,000 females committed suicide. Suicide rates varied greatly between regions, from 3.5 per 100,000 population in the Caucasus to 28.0 per 100,000 in the Baltic region. The same pattern of variation between regions was also observed for men & women, with rates for men ranging from 4.9 in the Caucasus to 45.9 in the Baltic region, & rates for women ranging from 2.1 to 12.3 in these regions.