ABSTRACT
Some dangerous trends can be seen in Russian sexual life, including the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These trends, largely a consequence of recent changes in adolescent sexual behavior similar to the Western sexual revolution of the 1960s, have been compounded by the breakdown of state medical services and an increase in criminality. The only reasonable response to this challenge is sex education. But since 1997 all efforts in this direction have been blocked by a powerful antisexual crusade organized by the Russian Communist Party and the Russian Orthodox Church, and supported by pro-life groups. Their main targets are sex education, women’s reproductive rights, and free access to sexuality-related information. The campaign is openly nationalistic, xenophobic, homophobic, and anti-Semitic. And it has had disastrous public health consequences.
