the breakup of the Soviet Union , alcohol and tobacco use have risen , as Russians have struggled to adapt to economic change , health experts say . The transition from a system of state ownership to a market-oriented economy has not been easy for many Russians , according to Mireia Jofre-Bonet , a health economist at City University London . When the Soviet Union fell and the state disappeared , unemployment soared , and a significant portion of the population was pushed into poverty , she told CNN . Research suggests that those most vulnerable to alcoholism tend to be men with the lowest levels of education and the unemployed . A typical 18-year-old in the West has a 90 percent probability of reaching retirement age , but for young men in Russia the odds are reduced to 50 percent , says McKee . Alcoholism tends to be less of a problem among Russian women -- who have a higher average life expectancy of 73 -- but they face an equally worrisome health threat . There has been a big increase in smoking among women , who are being targeted by tobacco companies , says McKee . Traditionally ,
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In Russia , a country often associated with consumption of mass amounts of vodka , men have an average life expectancy of just 60 years -- one of the lowest in Europe . Men in Russia have an average life expectancy of just 60 years . Life expectancy for Russian men is well below that of western European countries like Germany , where men have an average life span of 77 years , according to World Health Organization figures . `` The biggest health problem facing Russia is the very high level of mortality among working aged men , '' says Martin McKee , an expert in Russian public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine . A new dynamism appears to be taking hold of Russia as it aims to raise its prominence on the world stage . Despite having benefited from a boom in commodities prices before the global economy hit the skids , health indicators like life expectancy have shown marginal improvement . Life expectancy for men has stagnated for quite some time , and a major culprit has been high levels of alcohol consumption . Since