Abstract
Disability is a human rights issue with particular significance in the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) region. The attitude towards persons with disabilities and their treatment under Communism was characterized by a social environment, where disability was a source of shame and denial, and a public environment in which the state took on the role of caretaker. For many children and adults with disabilities, this meant abandonment by their families and institutionalization in residential care. The vast majority spent their entire life in those institutions, isolated from their families and from community. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union the overall attitude towards people with disabilities has gradually changed and in recent years those people are given due attention. This chapter intends to contribute to a better understanding of the challenges children and adults with a disability face in the former Soviet countries and health, education and social services developed in the past two decades.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Philips SD. There are no invalids in the USSR! A missing Soviet chapter in the new disability history. Disabil Stud Quart 2009;29(3). http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/936/1111
World Health Organization. World report on disability. Geneva: WHO; 2011.
UNICEF. Innocenti insight. Children and disability in transition in CEE/CIS and Baltic states. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre; 2005.
UNICEF. Promoting the rights of children with disabilities. Innocenti Digest. 2007;13:1–68.
UNICEF. Children under the age of three in formal care in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. A rights-based regional situation analysis. Geneva: UNICEF; 2012.
UNICEF. TransMONEE 2011 database. Geneva: UNICEF; 2012.
Bilson A. The development of gate-keeping functions in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS. Preston: School Social Work, University Central Lancashire; 2010.
Johnson R, Browne K, Hamilton-Giachritsis C. Young children in institutional care at risk of harm. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2006;7(1):34–60.
United Nations. Report of the independent expert for the United Nations study on violence against children. New York: United Nations; 2006.
Innocenti Social Monitor 2009. Child well-being at a crossroads: evolving challenges in CEE/CIS. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre; 2009.
Petrea I. Mental health in former Soviet countries: from past legacies to modern practices. Public Health Rev 2013;34(2):1–7. Epub ahead of print.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Avetisyan, N. (2016). Former Soviet Countries. In: Rubin, I.L., Merrick, J., Greydanus, D.E., Patel, D.R. (eds) Health Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18096-0_37
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18096-0_37
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18095-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18096-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)