AIDS in Soviet Russia

A story of deception, despair and hope

By: Rustam Alexander

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Hardcover | 3 February 2026

At a Glance

Hardcover
240 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 2.0

Hardcover

$48.75

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The first book to tell the shocking story of the AIDS crisis in Soviet Russia.

Throughout the 1980s, as the world was grappling with the escalating crisis of AIDS, Soviet Russia continued to deny there was a problem. Arguing that the disease was limited to foreigners and 'immoral' groups, the government failed to take meaningful action, long past the point other countries had begun to recognise the full scale of the threat.

In this ground-breaking book, Rustam Alexander tells the story of AIDS in Soviet Russia. Fixated on disinformation, censorship and the persecution of marginalised communities, the Soviet authorities wasted precious time, allowing the epidemic to strike at the very heart of the nation: its children. Yet, despite the government's failure, a number of brave journalists, doctors and nascent gay groups decided to take matters into their own hands and engage in full-fledged AIDS activism.

Tracing the political and social response to AIDS in the final years of the Soviet era, Alexander sheds light on the devastating consequences of government inaction. He draws on personal stories, media reports and archival materials to provide a riveting account of the Russian people's fight against AIDS amid the tumultuous transformations of Gorbachev's perestroika.

About the Author

Rustam Alexander is a researcher who specialises in Russian and Soviet history. He is the author of Red Closet: The Hidden History of Gay Oppression in the USSR (2023), Gay Lives and ‘Aversion Therapy’ in Brezhnev’s Russia (2023) and Regulating Homosexuality in Soviet Russia, 1956–91: A Different History (2021).

His work has appeared in Slavic Review, Russian History, Europa-Asia Studies and Kritika. He is a columnist for Novaya Gazeta Evropa, an independent Russian newspaper.

Industry Reviews

Shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2026

'A profoundly shocking expos© of how Soviet and Russian state ignorance, misinformation, prejudice and cover-ups created an HIV/AIDS crisis of catastrophic proportions.'
Peter Tatchell, LGBT+ and human rights campaigner

'Rustam Alexander situates his fascinating and detailed history of the AIDS epidemic in Russia within a deep understanding of the events leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union. His account of an often overlooked part of the global AIDS story is an important addition to scholarship on both Soviet and HIV history.'
Dennis Altman, author of Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation

'With clarity, nuance and remarkable humanity, Alexander exposes the struggles to counter the transmission of HIV, disinformation and fear during the Soviet Union's twilight years. Though tragic and shocking, this riveting book also offers a message of hope by highlighting the activists who fought against institutional apathy and widespread stigma.'
Richard A. McKay, author of Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic

'Churchill described Russia as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma". Rustam Alexander's book lifts the veil around the early AIDS pandemic in the country. Essential reading for students of contemporary Russian history, public health and epidemiology, it is a stark warning of the failure of interventions.'
Alan Whiteside, author of HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction

'Impeccable scholarship combined with an extraordinary depth of research. AIDS in Soviet Russia is an essential record of events told concurrently with the unravelling of the Soviet empire and outlining the appalling failures, neglect and violations of human rights inherent within that derelict and corrupt system. A master work.'
Derek Frost, author of Living and Loving in the Age of AIDS

'Rustam Alexander's new book provides a prehistory of today's crisis and opens a fascinating window on the medical establishment, political elites and, especially, society of Russia in the 1980s.'
Kristin Roth-Ey, BBC History Extra

'Alexander's straightforward narrative, largely based on Soviet press coverage, chronicles the spread of AIDS in the Soviet Union from the late 1980s, when the first cases of HIV infection were registered, up to the country's dissolution in 1991.'
Foreign Affairs

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