Perestroika in the Former USSR: History’s Most Effective Suicide-Preventive Programme for men (IN: Suicide – an Unnecessary Death, edited by D Wasserman)

This chapter examines the influence of “perestroika” on suicide in the USSR. One of the changes that came about in this period was a strict limit on the sale of alcohol. The effect of limiting alcohol access was a sharp decrease in suicides, especially among males age 25-54 years. Unfortunately, the suicide preventive effects were not lasting as unofficial alcohol production rose after 1988 & a scarcity of funds ruled out continued public education campaigns. (13 refs.)