Book Review: Vspyshka. Neizvestnaya istoriya VICh v SSSR

European Journal of Women's Studies. 2025. Vol. 32. No. 3. P. 349–352.

Aleksandr Fokin

Despite remarkable medical advances in The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment and prevention over recent decades, the epidemic remains a pressing global health challenge. This is particularly evident across post-Soviet territories, where a conservative turn in social and political spheres has intensified the marginalization of vulnerable populations. Contemporary healthcare policies in these regions frequently reflect Soviet-era institutional practices and social attitudes, perpetuating approaches that have proven ineffective and often harmful. The stigmatization of affected communities, coupled with inadequate public health resources, continues to hamper effective responses to the epidemic. Understanding the historical dynamics of how the Soviet Union addressed the HIV epidemic is therefore crucial for comprehending current policy frameworks and public health responses in post-Soviet states, where past institutional practices continue to shape present-day approaches to epidemic management.

Keywords: история Советского Союза, cultural history of medicine, культурная история медицины, позднесоветское общество, History of Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, Late Soviet society