Official says Russia 'not ready' for tough HIV steps

Compounding the problem, activists said, Onishchenko's sentiments on substitution therapy reflect the attitudes of the government and the population as a whole. Kazatchkine said few voices in the national legislature and the dominant political party support such initiatives and the Moscow government is overly conservative in its approach toward AIDS issues.

"There is a basic lack of political support," he said.

Onishchenko said uninformed Russians have little patience for drug users, preferring to ostracize them rather than address their needs.

Still, most activists and officials agrees there has been progress in Russia, highlighted by a general slowing in the number of new cases registered annually.

McClure said the myths about AIDS are gradually being erased from the public's consciousness, with TV ads that try to convince people that they can't catch HIV from washing the dishes or, say, holding hands.

Russia has pledged at least 9.3 billion rubles (US$392 million (euro254 million) to fight AIDS in 2009, more than 20 times the amount spent in 2005. The money will go to equipment for diagnosis and treatment, and education campaigns.

"The money is enough; the question is whether the money is spent on the right things," Kazatchkine said.

Russia's heroin problems stem from the country's location as a trafficking route connecting opium-producing Afghanistan with Europe.