Russia

I choose LIFE

Aleksey Kurmanaevskiy - an activist from Kazan (Russia) who made a complaint to the European Court on Human Rights against Russia because of absence of access to adequate drug treatment. Methadone is illegal in Russia despite being on the WHO list of essential medicine.

Free fall: a Russian drug addict crashes – again!

Irina Teplinskaya: "I addressed the UN to force Russia to introduce a substitution therapy for treatment of drug addicts"

Last week Irina Teplinskaya, drug user from Kaliningrad (Russia), made a complaint against Russia to Mr. Anand Grover – UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. She complied that Russia doesn’t provide proper treatment to drug users. Below you can read Irina’s life story.

Alcoholism in Russia

What are often the first things that come to mind when Russia is mentioned in conversation? Freezing cold temperatures? Communism? Putin? All of these are probably true, yet probably the first thing to pop into a person’s head when imagining Russia is vodka.

Russian state and the drug trade

The leaking of US embassy cables by the website WikiLeaks last year proved to be one of the most astonishing stories in recent memory. The murky world of international diplomacy was revealed to all, as readers were granted access to the private communications of embassy staff. Many of these cables, which were never meant for public eyes, illustrated the real opinions of diplomats and proved to be an embarrassment for the US.

The HIV epidemic in Russia

To watch the documentary click here

Irina Teplinskaya needs your help

Irina Teplinskaya continues to be harassed by the Russian authorities as the European Court of Human Rights start to process her claim against Russia on the grounds of denial of substitution treatment for her drug dependency.

Drugs as a tool of intimidation, discrediting and political repression

Krokodil takes toll on Russian addicts

Many Russian drug users are switching from heroin to a drug commonly known as Krokodil (Desomorphine). Krokodil is cheaper that heroin and more addictive meaning those who cannot afford heroin are moving to Krokodil with devastating effects. Doctors who are treating those who have injected themselves with Krokodil say it’s ‘tougher to quit and it’s quicker to kill’ the media have often called it the ‘flesh eating drug’ due to the effects of the drug.

Russia's drug policy merely increases HIV infections

Russia has been in the grip of an HIV epidemic for years now with many organisations believing that it will not reach the millennium development goal 6. This is partly due to Russia’s inability to tackle the prevalence of HIV amongst IDU’s which are most likely caused by a Russian government abysmal drug reduction strategy which involves denying any use for harm reduction.

Irina Abdyusheva Teplinskaya investigated

Irina Abdyusheva (Teplinskaya), who was taking the Russian Government to court to force them to allow her and many other Russian's access to methadone appears to have been the victim of drugs being planted on her.

On returning from drug treatment in Ukraine, she was stopped and 'found' to have some methadone in her possession.

You can read her statement below.

We will keep you informed of how you can support her.

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