I found a very interesting article last night about alcohol and alcoholism in Russia. If there is one thing that most Americans associate with Russia, it is vodka. That association is perhaps a bit unfair: There is a lot more to Russia and Russian culture that vodka, but it is impossible to consider Russia without thinking of alcohol. Spirits pervade every aspect of life--the drunks sitting on benches swilling beer at 9am, the workplace champagne toasts for every birthday and celebration, the vodka-drenched holiday celebrations. Most stores have a vodka isle.
I think the article gives a pretty fair look at the state of things in Russia right now. This article states that the cheapest bottles of vodka cost 30 rubles ($1), which is true but misleading. Those cheap ones are just 50ml tiny bottles, but you can buy a half liter of totally drinkable vodka for the whopping sum of five dollars. Also, a few laws have been passed under Putin and Medvedev that make an attempt at limiting the availability of alcohol. They reclassified beer as an alcoholic beverage (it used to be considered a soft drink--ya that's how intense Russia is), and now you can't buy any alcohol between 11pm and 8am (a least if you are following the law).
Alcoholism exists everywhere, but you definitely get a full-on view of it here in Russia.Vladimir has a reputation for being a bastion of alcoholism, although locals say it probably isn't any worse than in any other medium-sized city and that the alcoholism in the countryside is beyond belief. In a lot of villages, there simply aren't any real jobs, so people line up every day outside the alcohol store at 8am, spend the whole day getting stewed, and repeat the process the next day, working odd jobs to pay for their vodka. Or people run stills in their Soviet apartments and sell illegal booze to all the drunks of the town. Honestly, seeing the hellholes and human tragedies created by alcoholism everyday makes even drinking in moderation seem much less appealing. Leave it to Russia to make something fun difficult and depressing. Maybe that's why I know quite a few Russians who don't drink alcohol at all.
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/how-alcohol-conquered-russia/279965/
I think the article gives a pretty fair look at the state of things in Russia right now. This article states that the cheapest bottles of vodka cost 30 rubles ($1), which is true but misleading. Those cheap ones are just 50ml tiny bottles, but you can buy a half liter of totally drinkable vodka for the whopping sum of five dollars. Also, a few laws have been passed under Putin and Medvedev that make an attempt at limiting the availability of alcohol. They reclassified beer as an alcoholic beverage (it used to be considered a soft drink--ya that's how intense Russia is), and now you can't buy any alcohol between 11pm and 8am (a least if you are following the law).
Alcoholism exists everywhere, but you definitely get a full-on view of it here in Russia.Vladimir has a reputation for being a bastion of alcoholism, although locals say it probably isn't any worse than in any other medium-sized city and that the alcoholism in the countryside is beyond belief. In a lot of villages, there simply aren't any real jobs, so people line up every day outside the alcohol store at 8am, spend the whole day getting stewed, and repeat the process the next day, working odd jobs to pay for their vodka. Or people run stills in their Soviet apartments and sell illegal booze to all the drunks of the town. Honestly, seeing the hellholes and human tragedies created by alcoholism everyday makes even drinking in moderation seem much less appealing. Leave it to Russia to make something fun difficult and depressing. Maybe that's why I know quite a few Russians who don't drink alcohol at all.
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/how-alcohol-conquered-russia/279965/
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