Psychiatric knowledge in Russia: domestic traditions or scientific facts?

Abstract

Russian and world psychiatry are characterized by significant differences: the first can be called as the psychiatry of domestic traditions, and the second one as the psychiatry of scientific facts. Russian psychiatry is marked by emphatic devotion to national theoretical schools, an appeal in scientific discussions to the authority of famous psychiatrists of the past, a tendency to speculative psychopathological constructions, the use of archaic psychiatric terms with unclear content, insufficient attention to the principles of evidence-based medicine, or even outright disregard for these principles. The natural consequences of Russian psychiatrys traditionalism are the arbitrariness of psychiatric diagnosis and the frequent use of medicines and treatment methods without proper evidence of their effectiveness and safety.