Above-average alcohol consumption has been a problem in Russia for centuries. Catherine the Great seemed to condone it, as this statement she made reflects: It is easier to rule a drunk public. (Have her tactics have been adjusted to modern times, with fat food replacing liquids with the similar side effects: turning brains and muscles into mush?)
Drinking in Russia
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, drinking in Russia has increased to staggeringly high levels. It may not be visible on the streets, as police efforts to remove drunks from public places is now more effective.
The average Russian consumes 4.75 gallons of pure alcohol, compared to the United States, which is less than half that amount. (Sadly, the US makes up for that discrepancy via junk food.) Result: life expectancy way down, productivity of work force way down, health care costs up.
The Tradition of Vodka
This ingrained tradition of vodka, the main drink of choice, has hindered Russia in its development, especially since the opening up to Western Capitalist ventures.
President Dmitri Medvedev is marching down the path toward sobriety. Several other leaders before him attempted, more or less unsuccessfully, the same thing.
The tradition of high alcohol consumption and anti-alcohol campaigns also go back centuries. Its intrinsic with the history of this sprawling country.
Gorbachev's Anti-Alcohol Measures
One of the most spectacular failures were Gorbachev’s measures. He ordered stores to empty their shelves of vodka and historic vineyards destroyed. That didn't go down well. Short-term relief turned into a long- term hang-over for Gorbachev. The empty shelf law was revoked and the vineyards were gone for good.
President Medvedev is determined to succeed where others before him have failed. I think he might. He's short. Short guys are way ambitious. No matter how much this habit is entrenched in Russian culture, Medvedev says that other countries with similar habits have managed to address the problem
Heavier Taxation on Alcohol
Among the suggestions that could bring about a long term alleviation of the situation: heavier taxation and the closing of unlicensed distilleries. A half a liter of vodka currently costs approx. $2. (An increase on prices on fast food may be an idea to contemplate in the US and other countries in the Western World struggling with obesity and poor health due to bad nutrition)
In Russia, unlicensed distilleries produce half the vodka people drink. To make matters more difficult, the protective hands of corrupt officials further undermine the reduction of these operations.
Dr. Nemstov, of the Moscow Psychiatric Research Institute, a leading alcohol expert, says it would be foolish to simultaneously put constraints on beer sales. People will drink, no matter what. Add to that the fact that the breweries, for the most part, are owned by foreign corporations and they spend millions to lobby government officials.
At the various drunk tanks located throughout the country (where drunks are brought in to sober up), the fines are still reminiscent of the Soviet Times: $3.50 is hardly enough to scare anyone off of being caught again. Just like $5 for a super jumbo grease fat flab sodium nitrate offensive isn't going scare the junk food addicts off.
Russia has battled alcoholism for centuries. A long-term solution can only come through education and a stronger economy to bridge social divides and give people hope.
Source for this article thanks to "Russia tries, once again, to rein in Vodka Habit", read in the New York Times November 2nd, 2009.
Veronika Kaufmann - Her book, titled "pretty different: you don't need all that money to look that good honey" will be published in January 2012.
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