The first decade of XXI century showed an increasing divergence in the dynamics of the levels of abortions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, despite the historical and social proximities of these nations. Russia lags far behind neighboring countries in the rate of reduction in the incidence of abortion. Only the differences in the use of contraception could explain the observed discrepancy. The authors use official statistics to analyze trends in abortion rates in the three countries, and the data from sample surveys to study structure of the methods of contraception. The analyses did not reveal obvious determinants that could explain the differences in the dynamics of abortion; the study found some national differences in contraceptive behavior and big differences in national policies. To find the ways to overcome the Russia’s lag the authors propose special in depth study of contraceptive behavior.