Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, birth rates and male life expectancy have suffered sharp declines and Russia's population is expected to decrease further over the next decade as a result of deaths caused by poor health.

Alcoholism is a major problem and half of all deaths in working-age men in Russia are caused by excessive drinking.

The rate of infectious diseases, such as TB, has also gone up and there is a growing HIV/Aids epidemic in Europe, mainly from a rise in injected drug use that followed the social and economic upheavals of the 1990s.

Drug abuse is growing at an alarming rate planting long-term consequences for the health of the Russians.