Escape from life

In the 20th century thousands of investigators tried to understand the dependence between the number of suicides and the tempo of industrialization, urbanization, feminization, crime, migration, average living area, prices of bread, coffee and fuel, sun activity, the level of radiation pollution (in the region near the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground the level of suicides during the last 20 years is constant: 20.5 suicidal attempts per 100 thousand population), etc. It is also established that in the countries, where the patriarchal mode of life was preserved, the suicidal level is 10-15 times lower than in the developed countries of Europe, North America and Japan.

Unfortunately, during the last decade the suicidal level in Ukraine has grown (by about 1.7%). Now we belong to the ‘top five’ European countries with the highest suicidal level. The most ‘risky’ professions are, first of all, so-called ‘free’ professions (musicians, artists, writers), then physicians, miners and law-enforcers. Such classification is true for the most countries of world. This phenomena is explained by permanent stresses they experience in their professional activities.

There exists the International Association of preventing suicides. Its branches are created in many countries, including Ukraine.

The weekly ‘Politika i kultura’, No. 13 (96), 2001