Perilous
Times
Russia alarmed by rash of teenage suicides
MOSCOW (AP) – A rash of teenage suicides in Russia has set off
alarm bells and experts are urging the government to take
immediate action.
Russia has the world's third-highest rate of suicide among
teenagers aged 15 to 19, with about 1,500 taking their own lives
every year, according to UNICEF. The rate is higher only in the
neighboring former Soviet republics of Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Boris Polozhy of the Serbsky psychiatric center in Moscow said
Friday that "until the highest authorities see suicide as a
problem, our joint efforts will be unlikely to yield any results."
Two 14-year-old girls in a town outside Moscow killed themselves
this week by jumping off of the roof of a 14-story building while
holding hands. Several other teen suicides have been reported
elsewhere in Russia.