Health security

Russia's Cancer Patients: Dying for Pain Relief

In the space of a month, Russia was shocked by several violent suicides involving terminally ill patients.

In a small town in Siberia, an elderly man placed an explosive device in his mouth and detonated it. In a Moscow region town, a man died after blowing himself up with a homemade bomb. In the southern Krasnodar region, a man was reported to have shot himself with a homemade gun. Another man was found dead in his Moscow apartment: Police concluded he had also committed suicide. All were reported to have struggled with cancer.

According to rules imposed by state media watchdog Roskomnadzor in the spring of 2015, Russian media outlets are not allowed to mention the reason for a suicide in their reporting. Whatever the reason in these particular cases, however, it is reasonable to assume the intense pain, bureaucratic hassles and scrutiny connected with painkiller prescription in Russia were contributing factors.