Of the Russians’ many ancient proverbs, they continue to endorse one statement today:

Не всё коту́ ма́сленица, бу́дет и вели́кий пост.

The phrase literally explains how festivities are fleeting, and Lent is right around the corner. In modern English, though, it roughly translates to “life is not a bed of roses”. The dominance of this idea in the world’s largest nation can prompt some questions: Are Russians generally more depressed than Americans? Do they view negative emotions differently? How do Russian attitudes towards depression contrast with those in the U.S.? Do the two countries treat the disorder in dissimilar ways?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is one of the most widespread mental illnesses. While its symptoms might seem universal, the international prevalence of depression and efforts to relieve it depend on cultural beliefs and norms. This site aims to present the differences in symptom recognition, perception, and treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in Russia and the U.S. With this web page, we hope to inform those interested in cross-cultural psychology and its implications. In particular, we want to give mental health professionals and friends of Russians with depression some tools for identifying disordered behavior and forming appropriate responses.