Panic in Russia as demand for antidepressants surges | World | News
As the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine approaches, demand for antidepressants, including Prozac, is soaring in Russia. According to analysis company DSM, approximately 22.3 million packs of antidepressant drugs were sold in 2025; This equates to £200 million and is almost double the amount purchased in 2022.
The apparent mental health crisis is attributed to a spiraling economy as funds are poured into Putin’s war machine and a culture of fear, with more than 20,000 Russians arrested for anti-war activities between 2022 and 2025. Citizens are unable to purchase daily essentials such as potatoes, whose cost has increased by 167% following failed harvests; Social assistance and education spending has also reportedly been cut in favor of military aggression. Russia’s economy also continues to be affected by Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, with oil and gas revenues falling to a five-year low of 393.3bn rubles (£377bn) in January.
The European Union (EU) has imposed 19 rounds of sanctions on Moscow since February 24, 2022, in sectors such as luxury and consumer goods, aviation and energy.
While the Russian economy was relatively resilient during the first three years of the conflict, it experienced a sharp slowdown in 2025, with interest rising to its highest level since the 2000s.
The number of antidepressants sold to the country’s population of approximately 143 million has also increased steadily since the start of the conflict; It increased from 13 million in 2022 to 15.3 million in 2023 and 17.9 million in 2025.
Along with the economic hardship, Putin’s determination not to ease pressure on Ukraine led to a nationwide recruitment campaign and hundreds of thousands of casualties; It’s an emotional toll that reverberates across the country.
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40-year-old teacher told Radio Free Europe last year: “In the beginning, every death was talked about, we attended funerals.
“I don’t even know who died last, whether they died, or how many people died.”
According to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, at least 325,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the conflict; this is five times more than all Russian and Soviet conflicts combined since World War II.
Fears that Putin will be called to war as part of his aim to recruit around 400,000 more people in 2026 are also underpinned by fears of expressing dissent and being jailed after Moscow’s crackdown on critics of the regime sharply escalated.
Since the start of the war, citizens have been imprisoned for denouncing the Ukrainian occupation as a crime, singing “banned” songs, and allegiance to “undesirable” Western organizations.
