TV link-up between countries of the CIS passed on Monday in Moscow, it was devoted to suicides. Several interesting things were found out during the action. For example, there are practically no suicides in Armenia. Only 2 people per 100 thousand of population commit suicide annually in this country. For comparison: there are about 30 suicides per 100 thousand annually in Kazakhstan, in Russia — 21,6. Ukraine (20) and Moldova (17) follow.
Let's note that despite super-sensational character of this message it’s hardly probable that it will be noted, tomorrow it will be simply forgotten. After all it is a question of the most important state task - about "people saving". In fact what is the main task of any state from kingdom of Hammurabi to the post-industrial USA of the times of the Nobel winner Obama? The task is simple - establishment and maintenance of such order at which life expectancy would grow together with population, people would be healthy and happy with their life as far as possible.
What is suicide, if not negative assessment to the state and society exposed by separately taken citizen putting his head in a loop?
Here we see that small, poor state of Armenia has the maximum assessment from citizens on a scale of suicides. Unless it’s not an occasion to analyze why it is so?
Participants of TV link-up from Yerevan tried to explain why there were so little suicides in Armenia. “Suicides as phenomenon have been studied long ago, they depend on a number of factors — climate, nationality, religion, but the main thing — socio-economic indexes. Historically there were always few suicides in Armenia that is connected with high level of integration of the Armenian society — each Armenian knows that people around won't leave him in trouble, relatives and friends will always help,” — the director of Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Right of NAN of Armenia Gevorg Pogosyan told.
Good explanation, but after all there are in the world many solidary societies with high level of suicides. It would be the same way easy to explain low level of suicides due to the generally high religiousness of the Armenian society, Christianity treats suicides sharply negatively. But here you are example of Russia where level of religiousness is growing – the number of suicides grows in parallel to it.
High level of suicides in rather safe Kazakhstan sets thinking about connection between true wellbeing and gross domestic product even taken per capita. Thus in the prosperous Japan the number of suicides per capita is even higher, than in Russia, while in Finland it’s less just a little. Lithuania is the world leader on suicides, South Korea is on the second place - not the poorest countries of a planet. Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica - and, by the way, Syria and Iran unexpectedly appeared the most not inclined to suicides. Meanwhile Belarus on a number of suicides even overtakes dictatorships of the Russian Federation and Republic of Kazakhstan friendly on the Euroasian union.
Perhaps, departments which are responsible for social policy and health care should be engaged in analysis of such questions instead of calculations how many kopeks should be added to grandmother having taken them away from grandfather, or estimation of the volume of investments into the health care centers which services can be used only by overwhelming minority of the population?
If we make up a rating of the countries on a number of suicides per capita, we will not see in general any correlation with the size of gross domestic product and income per capita. Whether it means that leaning on "objective" indicators heads of the states miss something very important? Whether it is possible to trust them our life and wellbeing?
Аnatoly Baranov, editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk
