Despite intensive research, no scientific explanations have been found to account for the exceptional longevity claimed for residents of various regions of the USSR. No documented evidence is available to prove that people in either the USSR, Ecuador, or Hunza live much beyond 110-115 years. The extreme longevity of certain groups of Soviet citizens appears to be neither a medical nor a biological problem. Rather it seems to be a complex social problem which has developed for many social, cultural, traditional, local, and political reasons.