Sexaholism does not care about nationality, politics, or religion. I am Russian—and I’m a good example of that. At the end of the 80s, observing the collapse of Communism, I found myself left with a deep sense of frustration, resentment, and fear. Looking for something to help me cope with the outside world, I became quickly hooked on pornography.

The addiction progressed in the 90s despite a happy marriage and a newly found religious faith. My faith slowed down the progression of the disease; it kept me from the worst forms of acting out, but it did not cure me. Soon I was unable to function with or without my lust. I was depressed, burnt out, and headed for a nervous breakdown.

A few years ago I came to England, discovered SA, and got sober. Soon I became keen to help other sexaholics in my home country. Russian SA is tiny—there is one meeting in Moscow and a few members here and there across a nation of 150 million. I discovered that there were many people like myself—suffering in despair and not knowing where to go. In fact, a good friend of mine who had been sober for many years in NA was being slowly killed by his sex addiction. I passed him the SA message and he got sober. In 2007, he started a group in Kazan, one of the major cities in Russia. Today the group has five or six regular members, meets three times a week, and is desperate to stay sober.

Most Russians cannot read English, and I wanted to make Sexaholics Anonymous available in Russian. By the grace of God, we were able to find a qualified interpreter, money, and a publisher to print the book. I am very grateful to say that the first authorized Russian translation of the book was published in July 2008 and is now available for distribution!