LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- 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 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 , rates of smoking among Russian women have been very low , but now , he says , almost 30 percent among those under 30 smoke . `` Ten years of adjusting to a new regime created lots of stress , '' says Jofre-Bonet . The resulting rise in alcohol and tobacco abuse have led to ailments like heart disease and cancer . Besides chronic conditions , epidemics of infectious disease , including tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS , have added to the country 's health woes . In the 1990s , Russia experienced a resurgence of tuberculosis , considered a disease of poverty . Since then the growth of new cases has slowed , but strains of the disease that ca n't be treated with the usual drugs continue to pose a serious public health threat . Meanwhile , the number of people living with HIV in Russia has more than doubled since 2001 . While largely confined to injecting drug users , HIV remains a challenge . Lack of needle exchange programs has curbed efforts to combat the spread of the disease , says Annabel Kanabus , director of international AIDS charity AVERT . `` The crisis is still going on . Efforts at prevention are not really working . '' The Russian government is attempting to tackle its health challenges . The alcohol problem improved briefly in 2006 after federal restrictions were applied to the sale of non-beverage alcohols , such as aftershave , which are commonly drunk , McKee says . But he added , there is a major challenge in ensuring that law is enforced everywhere . And while the Kremlin has invested in upgrading technical equipment in recent years , facilities are still not well equipped to deal with high levels of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure . The economic downturn is n't helping . Anxiety levels are rising as a result of soaring unemployment , and the government does n't have enough funds to meet the needs of the health system . `` There is no money . It 's a big mess , '' says Jofre-Bonet . `` The health care system can not pay for what it needs and there is a lot of corruption in the way of under the table payments for medicines or doctors that legally people should get for free . ''
Russian men face startlingly low average life expectancy of just 60 years . Alcohol and tobacco use contributing to rise of heart disease and cancer . Health facilities not equipped to deal with high levels of chronic conditions . Tell CNN what you think about Russia and its resurgence .