poverty and reform in the former soviet union

In the former Soviet republics, the decline in life expectancy has been spectacular, especially among men. In the Russian Federation, average life expectancy of men has gone from 70 years in the mid-1980s to 59 years and is today lower than in India. This situation is due notably to economic collapse, decline in the social welfare system and the prevalence of alcoholism and illness. Non-transmissable illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and injuries account for the greater part of the increase in deaths, although infectious diseases are also recurrent. If this death rate remains stable, 40 percent of boys age 15 today will die before the age of 60 in Russia.