In Russia, sales of antidepressants have been growing for the fourth year in a row. Since the start of the war against Ukraine, demand for them has increased by 100%: in 2022, 8.3 million packs were sold, and in the same eight months of 2026 — almost 18 million, the head of the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations, Viktoria Presnyakova, told NSN, citing data from IQ Data.
Presnyakova also named the annual growth rates: in 2022, sales of antidepressants increased by almost 20.6%, in 2023 — by 37%, in 2024 — by 32%, and in 2026 — by about 36.2%. According to her, despite a slight decline in 2024, the trend remains upward, and antidepressant consumption continues to grow.
In monetary terms, the market also grew. According to DSM Group, in 2025 Russians bought 22.3 million packs of antidepressants for 20.5 billion rubles, which is 36% more than a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2026, according to RNC Pharma, pharmacies sold 6.4 million packs for 5.8 billion rubles — 34% more than in the same period of 2025.
Experts linked the rise in demand for such drugs to the war in Ukraine. Psychiatrist Viktor Lebedev explained that this is not only about depression, but also about an increase in the number of anxiety and adjustment disorders.
INFOLine-Analytics CEO Mikhail Burmistrov pointed to two waves of anxiety. According to him, the first was associated with the war and mobilization, and the second fell in 2025 and was explained by Russians’ concerns over problems in the labor market.
In May, psychiatrist, narcologist, and psychotherapist Sergei Kuznetsov of the Rehab Family clinic said that at least 25–30% of the country’s residents have one form or another of anxiety disorder, and the upward trend continues. He noted that patients increasingly complain of anxiety, sleep disturbances, nightmares, panic attacks, decreased libido, and depressive states.
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