Homeless man in Severodvinsk sent to psychiatric clinic: what now?
A homeless man who had been roaming the city for years, drinking, begging, and frightening children has been forcibly placed in a psychiatric clinic in Severodvinsk.
Jan 27, 2026 0
Local residents report that the man«s asocial behavior included public drunkenness and harassment over several years.
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Residents of Severodvinsk (a city in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia) are trying to save a homeless man named Vitalik. According to locals, he had been roaming the city for years, drinking, begging, frightening children, and relieving himself in stairwells. Before New Year, he was forcibly placed in a psychiatric clinic. We found out what fate awaits Vitalik now.
The homeless man was once a friendly musician from a good family before his life spiraled into vagrancy.
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Police detained the homeless man on December 19. According to Alexander Dyatlov, a deputy of the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly, he was sent for compulsory treatment to the Severodvinsk psychiatric clinic at the request of local residents. Vitalik has already spent a month there.
A photograph shows Vitalik in his youth, prior to his descent into homelessness and addiction.
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«He is lying in the hospital in Severodvinsk. Everything is more or less normal with him, at least he is not using substances, he eats, drinks», the deputy said.
Many people know the homeless Vitalik. According to townspeople, he used to be an ordinary, friendly guy, played in a musical group, and grew up in a good family. But at some point, he started wandering.
The further fate of the Severodvinsk resident depends on the decision of the clinic staff.
«He has been brought to a normal state and soon they will decide how capable he is of living in society or not. We are waiting for the doctors» conclusion. If he is declared incompetent, he will remain in a special institution or someone will be able to take him under guardianship. If they say he is healthy, he will be released home«, says Alexander Dyatlov.
Earlier, Vasily Shurov, a narcologist from Moscow, told 29.RU that it is impossible to return a dependent person who has been wandering for a long period to normal life.
«If a person is not returned to society within three to four months, then it will be impossible to socialize them later. The person degrades to such an extent that washing them up and finding housing is useless, they will still return to the streets. There is no way back. Success stories, when a homeless person is cleaned up, given a job, and they cling to it, are unfortunately unlikely».
Vasily Shurov is a narcologist, psychiatrist, chief physician of the «First Step» clinic with more than 20 years of experience. He runs a YouTube channel about addictions, which has 1.49 million subscribers.
The expert suggests that Vitalik from Severodvinsk has the third stage of addiction.
«We have the first stage — psychological dependence, the second — physical, when withdrawal syndrome appears, and the third — the so-called encephalopathic, when the brain is damaged. This is the stage when people lose their jobs, housing, become completely asocial. Often even relatives kick them out because they are dangerous, can burn down the house, become aggressive. If a person wanders, goes around stairwells, behaves inappropriately, most likely they have already become demented. This is already the third stage».
Recall that in January 2025, on the outskirts of Arkhangelsk, a local eccentric with a tragic fate, Yevgeny Naumenko, became paralyzed. The 76-year-old man led an asocial lifestyle and at some point simply couldn«t get up. Neighbors looked after him for several weeks until they finally managed to get the helpless old man taken to the hospital.
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