Russia and Belarus: Same Difference?
Filed under: Belarus ~ Europe ~ Russia
In 2002, two years into the "presidency" of Vladimir Putin and three years after he became Prime Minister, Russia had the world's third-highest rate of suicide among teenagers and was one of only four countries in the world with a teenage male suicide rate above 30 per 100,000. Recently, with nearly a decade of rule by Putin under its belt, a study confirmed that (based on 2004 data) Russia and its sister state Belarus are in the top three in the world for overall suicide rate in the general population, with a rate of suicide per 100,000 people three times higher than that in the United States.
Russia also has a divorce rate over 30% higher than that of the United States, placing it in the world's top three in that category as well -- once again right next to sister state Belarus. The Russian divorce rate isn't surprising if you know that Russia's rate of domestic violence is also stratospheric, with one Russian woman being murdered by her husband every 40 minutes for an average of 14,000 such killings per year -- whereas in the United States, with twice the population Russia has, the figure is only 1,200 per year. This means Russia's rate of spousal homicide is nearly 30 times greater than America's, and makes it suprising that Russia's rate of divorce isn't even higher. The explanation may be that it's somewhat difficult to file for divorce when you are six feet under.
Many might find it surprising that Russia is keeping company with lowly Belarus in these categories. After all, isn't Belarus a Byzantine quagmire governed by a madman, whilst Russia is a surging economic dynamo governed by a beloved patriot? But of course, the image that Russia is really different from Belarus is sheer poppycock. If the people of Russia really loved their leader to the tune of 80% as public opinion polls claim, would they be killing themselves in droves and beating their wives to death with blunt instruments? It seems unlikely. And how could they love a leader who presides over the net loss of up to a million Russians from the population every year and an average wage of $3 per hour? What's far more likely is that the propaganda machine operated by the proud KGB spy who rules Russia is more effective, being financed by oil revenues Belarus doesn't enjoy, and creates a better illusion. And that's perhaps the most disturbing Russian reality of all.
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