HIV and AIDS in the Former Soviet Bloc

Abstract

As compared with most nations affected by the hu- man immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS, the countries of the former Soviet Bloc encountered the disease rather late. The first public announcement of cases of HIV infection in the former Soviet Union came in the mid-1980s and was greeted with denial and derision: many believed that AIDS could not happen there and that it must therefore be limited to homosexuals, drug addicts, and other “deviants,” as well as black Africans and foreign tourists. Some believed that HIV was developed by the United States as part of the Cold War, to be “tested” on marginalized persons who led a disor- derly sexual life.