Putin humiliated as antidepressant sales in Russia soar | World | News
The number of Russians taking antidepressants reached a record high in 2025 as the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine looms. At least 22.3 million packages of drugs such as Prozac, the equivalent of £200million and almost double the amount bought in 2022, were sold last year, data from Russian analytics company DSM has revealed.
A number of factors have been cited for the crash in Russian mental health, particularly the “culture of fear” created by the Kremlin, according to Stanislav Stanskikh, a Russia expert, as more than 20,000 Russians were arrested for anti-war activity between 2022 and 2025. The worsening cost of living crisis has also led to growing anxiety, with Putin’s war machine being prioritised over residents’ welfare, pensions and education.
More than a third of Russians believe the economy is getting worse – 10% more than in 2022 – a Gallup poll revealed, with nearly half saying it was a bad time to get a job and just under a third saying they struggled to afford food for themselves and their families. Citizens are now unable to buy everyday essentials such as potatoes, which have spiked in cost by 167% following failed harvests.
Russia’s economy is also continuing to suffer at the hands of Western sanctions imposed after the Ukraine invasion, with its oil and gas revenue plummeting to a five-year low of 393.3billion rubles (£377billion) in January.
The reveal of last year’s skyrocketing increase in antidepressant sales comes as shortages of Prozac and Zoloft, some of the most popular drugs, have also been reported in previous years. Up to 8.4 million were sold in 2019, 13 million in 2022, 15.3 million in 2023 and 17.9 million in 2024.
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Russia’s economy is also facing a crisis due to plummeting global oil prices and a tightening crackdown on its “shadow fleet” of tankers, which has halved energy revenues year-on-year. While the Kremlin’s 2026 budget was built on the assumption that Urals crude would sell for roughly $60 (£44) per barrel, prices have actually slumped toward $40 (£29).
This revenue collapse is compounded by secondary sanctions that have forced Russia’s largest remaining buyer, India, to slash its imports by nearly half to avoid losing access to Western markets.
To plug this deficit and maintain its war effort, the Russian government has been forced to shift the burden onto its citizens through a VAT increase to 22%, effective from January 1, and a 16% interest rate that has effectively frozen private borrowing.
