AIDS and security in Russia

Abstract

In Russia, as in many other countries, AIDS has been the “Nuremberg disease”: no one has it; people who are HIV positive deserve their fates due to immoral lifestyles; and Russian authorities are just following the practices in other countries where leaders refuse to acknowledge the problem until lots of people die. While Russian leaders replicate the behavior of rulers elsewhere, dismissing evidence of a growing HIV-positive population and focusing their attention on other pressing needs, AIDS has become a serious security issue in Eurasia. The Russian Federation faces a daunting challenge in staffing its military and security services. In the years 2015-2020, even with no losses due to HIV/AIDS, there will not be enough young men in the draft-age cohort to meet personnel needs. In this context, the impact of a moderate-scale epidemic of a disease like AIDS would turn an impossible situation into a disaster requiring unprecedented solutions.