Russia's Silent but Deadly AIDS Epidemic

One uncharacteristically sunny morning in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nikolai Antonovich (not his real name) got a phone call from his local clinic demanding that he come over immediately. After sitting for several hours in the waiting room, his name was called by the nurse, who led him into a small room and coolly informed him he was HIV positive. She then mechanically read out a pamphlet informing him that it was against Russian federal law for him to engage in sexual intercourse with another Russian citizen without telling them about his incurable disease. Then he was sent on his merry way, with no drug prescriptions, no counseling, not even a sympathetic pat on the back. The process was as formal, rote, and heartless as any bureaucratic procedure—it was like telling him his life visa had just been denied.