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Prior to its dissolution in 1991, the Soviet Union was virtually isolated from the influences of the West. In the early years of the epidemic in the US, news about the “Western problem” of AIDS was frequent in the Soviet press. As homosexual activity was illegal under Soviet law, officials had confidence that HIV would never be a problem in their country. This changed in 1987, when 279 children were discovered to have been infected in hospitals through unsterilized equipment and reused syringes.
By the end of 1994, there were 1,323 people who tested HIV positive on Russian soil. Four hundred sixty (460) of these were foreigners who were deported. Of the Russian nationals who were infected, one-fifth had died at the time of this writing. An interesting note is that of 139 people who have died, 110 of these deaths were due to AIDS-related complications. The other 29 deaths are reported by the government as “unfortunate accidents or suicides.”
Approximately one-fourth of the confirmed cases of HIV in Russia are children that were infected in medical settings. Another one-third of the cases are among homosexual men. No cases of HIV infection through intravenous drug use have been reported at the time of this writing. An interesting note: according to official statistics, as of 1994 there were 21 women who contracted HIV “by nursing HIV positive babies.” The vastness of the territory and the diversity of the population of Russia has made HIV/AIDS prevention and education efforts difficult. Until recently, all prevention messages came from the government and were typically based on fear campaigns and discrimination against homosexuals. By the end of 1995, there were approximately 30 non-governmental organizations involved in HIV/AIDS prevention, education, and support in Russia.
Political and economic instability, organized crime, and epidemics of more acute infectious diseases have diverted attention from AIDS. HIV/AIDS is not yet a priority in the countries of the former Soviet Union for neither the citizens nor the government. With few exceptions, the average citizen is still without the basic facts about HIV/AIDS, partly due to misinformation in the media and lack of public discussion.
High quality condoms are available in the large cities, but remain unavailable in much of the country. While the region is considered “low prevalence” by international experts, the official numbers of infected are grossly underestimated and continue to grow steadily. Predicting the future of HIV/AIDS in the region is impossible without more accurate statistics and research in several areas. However, it is imperative that the government begins to acknowledge the connection between HIV transmission and human rights, other areas of public health, information flow, and an adequate standard of living for their citizens.
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