Difference between revisions of "Psikhushka (FSU)"

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''Psikhushka'' is a much more benign name and in fact the abbreviation of the Russian term for psychiatric hospital, ''psikhiatricheskaya bolnitsa''. Yet in Soviet times it also acquired a much more ominous meaning because of the many dissidents who wound up in the ''psikhushka'' for political reasons.  Among the well-known victims were poetess Natalya Gorbanevskaya, biologist Zhores Medvedev, General Pyotr Grigorenko and the Ukrainian cyberneticist Leonid Plyushch.

''Psikhushka'' is a much more benign name and in fact the abbreviation of the Russian term for psychiatric hospital, ''psikhiatricheskaya bolnitsa''. Yet in Soviet times it also acquired a much more ominous meaning because of the many dissidents who wound up in the ''psikhushka'' for political reasons.  Among the well-known victims were poetess Natalya Gorbanevskaya, biologist Zhores Medvedev, General Pyotr Grigorenko and the Ukrainian cyberneticist Leonid Plyushch.

Political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union was widespread. There were individual cases in the early Soviet period, but during Stalinist times the ''psikhushka'' was mainly used to save people from the Gulag, and basically to hide individuals from Stalin’s executioners. Life in psychiatric hospital was considered better than in the concentration camps of the Gulag, and thus the chances of survival were higher. The same happened later in Poland after martial law was declared in 1981 and some Solidarność leaders were hidden in psychiatric institutions to avoid arrest. Similarly during the last years of the Soviet Union a number of young men had themselves hospitalised in a ''psikhushka'' in order to avoid being drafted into the army with the risk of being sent to the war in Afghanistan.

Political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union was widespread. There were individual cases in the early Soviet period, but during Stalinist times the ''psikhushka'' was mainly used to save people from the Gulag, and basically to hide individuals from Stalin’s executioners. Life in psychiatric hospital was considered better than in the concentration camps of the Gulag, and thus the chances of survival were higher. The same happened later in Poland after martial law was declared in 1981 and some Solidarność leaders were hidden in psychiatric institutions to avoid arrest. Similarly during the last years of the Soviet Union a number of young men had themselves hospitalised in a ''psikhushka'' in order to avoid being drafted into the army with the risk of being sent to the war in Afghanistan.

The political abuse of psychiatry became systemic under Yuri Andropov, who became Chairman of the KGB in 1967 and set himself the task to fight the internal enemy, the dissident movement that was in his view a perfidious creation of Western intelligence agencies designed to undermine the Soviet state. As we know now, he convinced the Politburo that there were many thousands of especially dangerous criminals in the USSR who were mentally ill, and based his proposal to the Politburo on a report by one of his subordinates who maintained that only a quarter of the necessary psychiatric beds were available and that many more were needed. The report also cited ‘especially dangerous crimes’- these included trying to meet with foreigners, trying to flee the Soviet Union, disseminating leaflets and – the worst – calling for control mechanisms over the Communist Party (Van Voren 2010<ref>Van Voren, R. 2010.Cold War in Psychiatry.  Amsterdam: Rodopi.</ref><ref>Van Voren, R. 2010. ‘Abuse of psychiatry for political purposes in the USSR: a case-study and personal account of the efforts to bring them to an end’, in Helmchen, H. and Sartorius, N. (eds): Ethics in Psychiatry – European contributions, Berlin: Springer</ref>).

The political abuse of psychiatry became systemic under Yuri Andropov, who became Chairman of the KGB in 1967 and set himself the task to fight the internal enemy, the dissident movement that was in his view a perfidious creation of Western intelligence agencies designed to undermine the Soviet state. As we know now, he convinced the Politburo that there were many thousands of especially dangerous criminals in the USSR who were mentally ill, and based his proposal to the Politburo on a report by one of his subordinates who maintained that only a quarter of the necessary psychiatric beds were available and that many more were needed. The report also cited ‘especially dangerous crimes’- these included trying to meet with foreigners, trying to flee the Soviet Union, disseminating leaflets and – the worst – calling for control mechanisms over the Communist Party (Van Voren 2010<ref>Van Voren, R. 2010.Cold War in Psychiatry.  Amsterdam: Rodopi.</ref><ref>Van Voren, R. 2010. ‘Abuse of psychiatry for political purposes in the USSR: a case-study and personal account of the efforts to bring them to an end’, in Helmchen, H. and Sartorius, N. (eds): Ethics in Psychiatry – European contributions, Berlin: Springer</ref>).

Andropov’s plans prevailed and in the mid-1970s many hospitals were enlarged or newly built. About one third of the political prisoners wound up in psychiatric hospital, where they were subjected to ‘treatment’ with neuroleptic drugs or tortured with other concoctions, such as being wrapped in wet linen which would shrink when drying causing horrible pain. Other treatments included the use of outlandish ‘drugs’ like sulphozine- a mixture of peach extract and sulphur which when injected caused high fevers often leading to comatose conditions. The suggestion was that the fever ‘burned out the poison of mental illness.’

Andropov’s plans prevailed and in the mid-1970s many hospitals were enlarged or newly built. About one third of the political prisoners wound up in psychiatric hospital, where they were subjected to ‘treatment’ with neuroleptic drugs or tortured with other concoctions, such as being wrapped in wet linen which would shrink when drying causing horrible pain. Other treatments included the use of outlandish ‘drugs’ like sulphozine- a mixture of peach extract and sulphur which when injected caused high fevers often leading to comatose conditions. The suggestion was that the fever ‘burned out the poison of mental illness.’