The control and management of the sexually transmitted diseases: a comparison of the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation.

During the last 20 years, both the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation have seen changes to clinical services for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) health systems and other mechanisms through which STDs are controlled. In the UK these changes followed the description of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); its causal agent. In Russia, the breakdown of the Soviet Union following glasnost and perestroika, and its associated political, social and economic changes generated substantial developments to the ideological and legislative framework within which STD control is achieved as well as a revolution in the financial base upon which clinical STD services operate. The purpose of this paper is to sketch these developments in STD services within the 2 countries to provide a context for the series of papers presented in this edition.