There were approximately six million abortions in the Soviet Union that year. A U.N. report stated that the rate had risen to 12 million by 1991. Low wages and the scarcity of food and other essentials add to the difficulties. These conditions combine to create intolerable situations where parents find themselves unable to maintain their children. In other republics and rural areas, birth rates are higher and abandoned children are almost unknown because of the still-surviving traditional system of family support.
Alcoholism exacerbates the difficulties of many families.
In 1980, of a total population of the Soviet Union of some 260 million, there were 40 million registered alcoholics with perhaps more who had not been registered. In addition, the strongly-ingrained idea that the state was there to care for all eventualities and untoward situations did not allow individuals to play their part. Adoption by its very nature is an individual acceptance of responsibility for the future welfare of a child. The lack of adequate role modeling for warm, caring family life and, in many cases, the prolonged institutionalized brutalization from staff or peer groups, may cause serious problems regarding interpersonal relationships, parenting, and citizenship. This may lead to the repeated cycle of deprivation, abuse and handicap.