Five Signs Indicate that Russia is a Sick Society that is Only Getting Worse, Experts Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Feb. 3 – Most of the problems of any society are treated in isolation from other problems, but many of them reinforce one another, setting the stage for a sick society to become worse in the future. Such is the case of Russian society, according to psychologists, medical professionals and criminologists.

            Those specialists, surveyed by Ignor Trifonova of the Profile portal, point to five problems that are either being ignored altogether or minimized by officials and that as a result will “raise the temperature” of an already sick Russian society (profile.ru/society/temperatura-povyshaetsya-specialisty-preduprezhdajut-o-simptomah-sereznogo-krizisa-obshhestva-1251699/).

            First of all, Russians are not taking care of themselves or their children, cutting back dramatically on regular checkups and not going to doctors for medical care when problems arise. As a result, the specialists say, the problems Russians have when they finally turn to doctors are much worse and far more difficult and expensive to treat.

            Second, because of economic pressures, Russians are working more and relaxing less either by exercising, going out to eat, or simply taking  time to recover from the pressures of work. Instead, an increasing number of them have been reduced to a life where working and sleeping form the overwhelming majority of their days.

            Third, Russians are purchasing ever more anti-depressants and sleeping pills, an effort at self-medication that hides from them and from society their problems but only for a time. And when that time is up, such people often find themselves in far more dire straits than they were in before they began taking such medications.

            Fourth, crime is rising steadily and is increasingly violent, something the authorities routinely deny; but it is certainly going up two to three percent a year, criminologists say, a trend that has an impact not only on the immediate victims but on a growing sense of angst among the society as a whole.

            And fifth, returning veterans from the war in Ukraine are not only suffering from PTSD and engaging in more violent crime, but they are sparking tensions between themselves who served and those at home who didn’t. Such tensions mean that the war is now affecting those who have managed to avoid service in a profound and often negative way.