Jaipal Narula
J. Apkarian
RUSS 190
12 December, 2016
Russians are commonly described as one of the most alcohol-prone nationalities. As the country is trying to implement various Anti-alcoholism measures, it is clear that Russian alcohol abuses have been growing significantly, with wine and spirits leading the average use of alcohol. The societal, political and economic attempts to control the average consumption of alcohol have been openly challenged by a subsequent social culture that motivates Russians to continue abusing large quantities of vodka. The issue of alcoholism in the Russia has been then associated with the mixed results that lead to the problem of addiction. The issue of alcoholism is prominent in Russian culture and continues to devastate the country, despite repeated attempts to restrict its use as seen through various statistics, social pressures, political influences, and economic hardships.
Various statistics clearly illustrate the gruesome reality of alcoholism in Russia. On average, Russia consumes close to two billion liters of pure alcohol annually (learn-about-alcoholism.com, 2016). Close to 20 percent of children in the early teenage life are becoming addicted to alcohol. In fact, “the current statistics show that close to 70% of girls and another 76 of boys have abused alcohol at one point in their lives” (learn-about-alcoholsim.com, 2016). Significant findings display the average per capita consumption in Europe stands at 15.76 liters, with countries such as Russia and Belarus leading in the abuse of alcohol. According to a report by the World Health Organization, the average Russian consumes close to 19.6 liters of alcohol annually. Part of the reason is due to high levels of underage drinking. The ease of access to the alcohol as well as the numerous advertisements of alcoholism shows that the drinks make or bring out desirable aspects in the youth’s lives. The reflected market is in part because back in 1990s Alcohol consumption had reached close to 12 billion marks, meaning that more and more Russians were already drinking alcohol (Mickle, 2016). Over time, however, these numbers slowly began to fall. Without a doubt, these copious levels of drinking are immensely damaging to the population.
Russia’s cultural development has been exceedingly shaped by alcohol and alcohol youth culture. Historically, the traditional alcoholic drinks were made from home brews, especially through mead and beer. When vodka appeared in Russia around 1500, the government began imposing important two primary systems that sold alcoholic drinks in state and private firms. The profits were immense. Hence, the need to inspire a relative drinking culture was fiercely motivated. In the 1600s, the government began taxing alcoholic beverages through the recreation of a state-sponsored individual replacement of trading and Vodka. With time, the tavern keepers collected more profits compared to any other business. Heath notes that by “1859-1863 the annual collection was 220 million silver rubles through the eleven times greater than other trades and serving and domestic market” (1995, p. 230) However, the system of collecting taxes became unpopular. Hence, the government introduced a more indirect methodology of collecting taxes. A popular culture arose in 1904 when the ministry of finance indicated that the “rapid increase in alcohol consumption was a reflection of peoples’ well-being, not a misfortune” (Heath, 1995). The Russian drinking culture was now popular among peasants, the wealthy, clergymen, monks, public workers, factory workers, monks and the soldiers. A current generation will naturally think that drinking vodka is part of a necessary culture in Russia. This is so because alcohol-related myths in Russia are so ingrained and pervasive that they are an integral component of every day through Russian culture In Russia, proverbs, jokes and sayings are common because they present a sense of mythology through the recreation of a native language. These myths are later closely related to the subjected hyperbole that alcohol helped in solving daily Russian problems such as freezing and stress. Although the diverse issues of socioeconomic stratification, homelessness, poverty, criminality, abandonment of children, drug use, and prostitution were related alcoholism, the culture became so powerful that people forget the negativity of these cultures. The existing set of irrational social attitudes towards alcohol shares shows that features related to alcoholism were growing with time. Transchel notes that “the secular elements of the Russian alcoholism were related to the description of the eternal existence of the inherently confused identity of unclear message” (Transchel, 2006). The appearance through the biography related to the Green Snake was an image apparently associated with the experience of alcoholism. The vodka and wine were often presented through a conjecture following the development of myths surrounding the constitution and the representation of the drinking culture. The provision of the alcohol represents the vagueness through a constant idol. According to many Russians, alcohol warms up the soul, provides strength, and eliminates fatigue through the remedy to cure all disorders. Alcohol removes drunkards through the irresistible through a spiritual entity through the power to reward.
In Russia, the abilities to consume large quantities of alcohol in a short time are considered a greater degree of manhood. Even today, no Russian meal is considered complete without vodka. The drinking culture in Russia is considered as a communal activity where the drinking is naturally associated with the rituals. In fact, the drinking together is considered as a concomitant cessation of real time to create important social bonds that allow people to share heartfelt and soulful interactions. The separation from real time is naturally found by the consumption through the first drink and succession through the identification of the occasion and the intimate friendship and the possible drinking practices in Russia that relate the notion that drinking was righteous. In general, “drinking time mostly took place within the home, for instance, in a room such as the kitchen and the long” (Caldwell, 2009). It is highly notable that drinking is associated with errant behavior. The social and the culinary aspect of alcohol show that drinking was naturally based on the needs for the requisite polite refusals. Russia drinking culture builds on the quality of the hospitality industry. A prominent and frequent form of bonding is the primary concern that the ubiquitous drinking culture is closely associated with the women, bartenders, and prostitutes who have loose morals. Although excessive drinking is linked to social ills such as alcoholism, crime, and domestic abuse, it is clear that the drinking is still associated as a form of social bonding, or even a form of patriotism; “drinking is part of the common culture based on the need to extend friendship and prevent ostracism” (Kaylen, 2013). The pervasive drinking culture encourages people to escape life drudgery through the un-doubtful social affair. In their drinking bouts, men prove their strengths and virility through the consumption of profuse amounts of liquor. In fact, in Russian companies, the advanced use of alcohol is naturally associated with efforts and vitality. With time, friends have motivated each other to continue drinking, leading to copious levels of alcohol intake.
The Multi-advertisement of wines and spirits has motivated the over consumptions of alcohol in Russia. Given that alcoholism, in general, impairs the reasoning capacity, the consumption caused the heavy drinking and moderate use that increased with time. The current state of alcoholism has resulted in reduced national productivity as well as multiple internal conflicts. J. True notes that the widespread “alcohol abuse [contributed] to Russia's endemic domestic violence” problem (True, 2013, p. 179). The shifting patterns of alcohol illustrate a substantial decline in morals, degenerating to alcoholism. The general propaganda existing under socialist ideology is that alcohol hardened and empowered the individual masses. However, as powerfully illustrated, the consumption of alcohol has had significant harmful consequences associated with the workplace related problems, domestic problems, and family related as well as other interpersonal violence. The greatest impact of the Russian alcoholic society is that there is a significant social impact associated with the neglecting social responsibilities, traffic causalities and the violence in the family. Victims are often subject to inadequate attention to resources and other criminal justice related health problems. Other constraints include a negative impact of the domestic violence, poverty, and challenges. Drinking significantly influences an individual functioning in several ways. In this case, the alcohol naturally leads to the impaired thinking hence impaired actions.
Alcohol consumption has been a progressive behavior in Russian history, primarily because the indulgence of the alcohol consumption has been associated with the need to fight the cold climate that is in the region. By the 10th AD, alcohol was already providing perfect revenue for those selling various types of drinks. During the Medieval times when armies were being professionalized, the use of alcohol grew significantly; “in these times, the development of alcoholic beverage using poured wine and the vodka was a result of various sources of grain” (Roberg, 2016). Creating alcohol was quite a cheap task, which had significant yields. In fact, by the 19th century, close to 33 percent of the government income came from alcohol-related proceeds. However, following the success of the Russian revolution, the government adopted a progressive industrial revolution policy where consumption trends were greatly evaluated. In fact, by the mid-20s, “Stalin and Politburo decided to revise various alcoholic laws” (Mckee, 1999). Such laws were necessary because alcohol-related deaths were growing progressively in cities such as Moscow and Petersburg. Meanwhile, the growth of the Great Patriotic War catapulted the consumption of alcohol. Stalin’s attitude towards alcohol continued changing. For instance, Soldiers were required to take Narkomovskaya a drink that was presumed to live their spirits. The Great Patriotic War permitted the soldiers to carry alcohol back to their homes. By 1964, a crisis was looming in the country where many people were not economically productive, rather full-time drunkards. This saw the introduction of the introduction of the Medical Labor Rehabilitation (LTP), a result of corrective institutions that were designed to reduce the overall alcohol consumption (Survincity.com, 2016). As a result, there was a widespread violation of the natural order of the Soviet citizens. The complete rehabilitation meant that it was possible to bring these objectives to a community where alcoholism and drug addiction was prominent. In addition, by 1994, the post-soviet countries, for instance, Turkmenistan and Belarus, were already considering the ban of alcohol based on its negative effects. The slow growth of an Anti-alcoholism culture in former Soviet countries was duplicated in Russia. Following the introduction of laws, the prohibition age helped minimize the consumption of alcohol. The prohibition wind involved the possibility of introducing programs that would help explain to users the health effects associated with quitting alcohol. For instance, the Gorbachev Anti-Alcohol (Bhattacharya et al., 2014) made a tremendous impact to motivating the reduction of the mortality. This was closely followed by the forced participation whereby the constant addicts were encouraged to take up lessons and programs that would help them quit alcohol. Economists such as Blocker have examined the cost-effectiveness and created a comparison of benefits and costs of alcohol. On the advantages side, alcohol is believed to” help Russians fight cold” and deal with stress; however, the multiple alcohol treatment programs show that the excessive alcohol consumption of alcohol leads to the perennial addictions and slavery (Blocker, 2003). Sustaining these slavery attitudes is disintegrating the benefits and the costs through a broad range of active treatment programs. More and more Russians are engaged in rehabilitation centers. The provisions of treatment are through own addictions that lead to excessive drinking.
Alcoholism creates a number of family-related issues, often leading to the dissociation of families or generations of stunted growth in children. The Soviet Secrecy led to the weak association and the lack of proper investigation of cross-section relationship between drinking and suicide mortality in Russia. Bhui notes Russia suicide rates rose dramatically following the increase in the over consumption of alcohol (Bhui, 2012, p. 120). In a positive feedback loop, the death of Russians led to the heavy drinking to forget the prevailing social and economic problems. The effect of the heavy drinking results in the poor performance of marital status, and other domestic and work relationships. Due to the poor performance of these connections, many people are forced to turn into alcoholism. Russia still has the largest divorce cases globally, mainly because couples exhibit violent behavior associated with alcohol which leads to divorce. Bhui and Bhugra (2007) argue that the primary cause of divorce is that a partner living with a drunkard partner is often “domestically abused, or the addict partner might neglect domestic duties” as well as force the partner into unwanted sexual activities (Hrw.org, 2004). Millions in Russia are already engaged so much into alcoholism given, however the addiction continuously contributed to the rise of divorce cases. In addition, there is significant evidence that illustrates that the complicated lifestyle of a drunkard individual involves poor hygiene or health related problems. These, when combined, also lead to higher divorce cases. One partner will generally prefer to exit the relationship because he or she feels that they are unable to cater for the massive bill and toll associated with the drinking partner. Besides, drinking costs were a significant portion of each Russian’s paycheck. Similarly, children from an alcoholic parent suffer significantly from persistent emotional problems as associated with the addicted parents. Research shows that substance abusers are more likely to be addicted to other drugs. Black argues that the “output is that these multiple addictions lead to the breakdown of internal communication within families” (Black, 2015). Russian children are often at the epicenter of the drinking problem, and with time, they develop problems of guilt, shame, ambivalence, confusion and fear and insecurities through the multiple associated problems. These emotional issues ultimately lead to socialization problems resulting in the slowing friendship as well as the poor performance with each successive drink. The anger and the problematic alcohol abuse have periodically amounted to the development of individual risk factors that result in the victimization and perpetration process. In addition, the violent behavior patterns naturally lead to the slow growth of medical problems that are related to various psychological issues. The generation has, with time, resulted in the victimization of children, and the creation of multiple issues slow growth relationships which are in the wake of alcoholism.
Russian excessive alcohol intake has had significant impacts on their economic productivity, decreased utilization, and poor health care. Russians continuously immense portions of their paycheck in buying alcohol as a way to sustain their illegal drinking behavior, money that could go into investment to benefit both themselves and the nation. In addition, the costs of accidents, possible police emergency services, health care utilization, judicial expenses, and prison time create immense expenses to both the individual and the country. The possible economic burden that relates to the alcoholic beverages includes reduction in the quality of lives, because of absentia for gainful employment. In Russian, the monetary price of alcohol is naturally legislated through many taxes increases, fines, legal drinking, container laws and the penalties. Kaylen and Pridemore claim these “policies raised the prices of liquor” (Kaylen, 2010); the drinker is the one hurt by this legislation. The monetary and nonmonetary costs are a direct result of the attempts to regulate alcohol use. Although there are policies that seek to regulate more Russians from drinking alcohol, the rate of the teenage drinkers is on the increase. The economic damage caused by alcoholism is about $750 million per year (Saunders and Strukov, 2010, p. 36). Alcohol-related problems annually amount for between 500,000 and 900,000 deaths in Russia; it is estimated that alcohol is a factor that has been a major cause of death for men ages 25 through 54. For instance, in the 1990s, Boris Yeltsin's government took an indifferent approach towards alcoholism problem given that the country was enjoying high taxes from the sales of alcohol. Yeltsin's well-documented addiction resulted in the number of scandals, which had an adverse impact on the economy. The consumption of alcohol, especially Vodka and Beer, became a traditional problem in Russia based on the issue of the “alcoholism through the exacerbated by the economic downturn in the 1980s as well as the Chaos and crisis in the 1990s” (Saunders and Strukov, 2010). This caused the Russians to continue drinking.
The considerate economic problems can be associated with the psychological flaws, where the possible psychological problems were related to a reasonable amount of alcoholic consumption. The mental problems were purely institutional failures that existed on the evidence of the community-related problems. In Russia, the consistent psychological problems were associated with the feelings of evil communism, hence alcohol created a fabric as a curing effect that would help extinguish alcoholic addiction. The sense of neglect and a slowing civic culture was a result of the communist failures through an appropriately fostered communist ideology. With time, the lack of a close relationship between the citizens and the government meant that the alcoholism took an active center stage on the social and economic problems. The argument is that Soviet General Secretaries Gorbachev and Andropov believed that alcoholism was a significant cause of poor economic performance. Blocker argues that” upon the success as a leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev took up the issue of alcoholism as the first public priority through his administration” (Blocker et al., 2003). The initiated campaigns attempted to reduce addiction by inhibiting the consumption of cheap vodka. Gorbachev campaign focused heavily on the reduction of alcoholic addictions by advocating heavily against cheap vodka. His attempts ultimately failed, as there was little decrease in the alcohol consumption rate. The economy was even worse, as alcohol migrated to the black market. The dry law led to pivnoi bars, where couples would often wait in long lines for entrance. This led to long episodes of binge drinking and bodily damage. The plausible explanation led to the reliable statistics that alcoholic consumption caused social difficulties that amounted to the financial problems. Bowker believed “by 1998, the Russian Government was already directing significant amount of funding to ambitious goals where the economic difficulties were already exacerbating to already existing social and economic problems growing because of alcoholism” (Bowker, 2014, p. 153). Russian alcoholic trends technically led to the declining of psychological principles and a general reduction in the quality of economic activities. The addiction led to the causation of poor economic and social performance that was regarded through the important outcomes of community-based ideologies.
As illustrated, in the 1990s, Boris Yeltsin government was unsuccessful to seeking solutions problem. The government enjoyed high taxes from various alcohol-related sales. Yeltsin approach was characterized with multiple scandals, which negatively influenced his political career. With time, under Vladimir Putin, the government tried to address the issues of alcoholism by raising the penalties for the consumption of the alcoholic related drinks. Much has been spoken concerning the political situation facing Russia based on the moral, psychological, economic and social backgrounds. However, as part of an extension, President Dmitri Medvedev ordered new restrictions on the sale of the beer and other similar beverages because this created a severe problem of rampant alcoholism. According to Jeffries, Medvedev publicly decried against Russia’s drinking problem and its effect on the nation's well-being. They planned new restrictions that would bar the sale of the beer in cans and bottles that were larger than 12 ounces. The alcoholic culture was a result of a “weak economy in the semi-soviet social sphere, adverse demographic trends, the fragile democracy, and the unstable Caucasus” (Jeffries, 2011 p. 324). Before the new stage, the Soviet Union was a one-party authoritarian system that was not disputable. According to the basic definition of Soviet socialism, the philosophy-controlled monopoly on power was introduced by Lenin and utilized by Stalin. The supremacy of the politics over the economy and the social life motivated the interlocking through the economic and the social-culture spheres of life with the various political areas.
Further arguments display that the suggested political liberalization in such a state was necessary to encourage Russians to reduce their alcohol intakes so that they could concentrate on their economic lives. In fact, the “party officials saw that the regional committees were part of the direct criticism of the party through the growth of a political ideology and the thoughts of the party exclusive” (Pridemore, 2006: 83). The individual responsibility and the initiative of the organizational infallibility were part of important organization dialogues that played a vital role in the attempt to defeat alcoholism. Given the Cold War Period, the favorite Russian image was closely associated with the alcoholism and drunkards, however the government attempted to distance that aspect to multiple scientific aspects. The contact of the emergency meeting convened to prevent the falling into a war because of the state of addiction. In both Russia and Poland, the long rulers distinguished themselves through their prowess as drinkers. Ermochkine and Iglikowski point out “that the collection of the East European political anecdotes published Paris showed that nineteen seventies were interesting through the association of alcoholism with communism” (Ermochkine, 2003). The central theme involves displays that alcoholism plays a general satirical criticism of communism. In fact, the USSR authorities in Poland attempted to introduce anti-alcohol campaigns with varying degrees of success throughout the communists’ period. This involves creating restrictions on the hours when vodka could be consumed or bought. Certain establishment vodka could only be ordered through food. Russia produced impressive posters depicting the ills that befall private working life of alcoholic living in these societies.
Alcoholism continues to play a major role in Russian culture. The political and economic attempts to control the average consumption of alcohol have been openly challenged by a subsequent social culture that motivates Russians to continue abusing large quantities of vodka and various other alcoholic beverages. The issue of Russian alcoholic problem has been a major concern primarily because efforts to reduce the overconsumption of alcohol have not been reactive enough to manage consistent alcoholic trends. The social, economic, political, and cultural impacts of alcoholism in Russia could be considered ‘mad’ by some. The social rigidity to alcohol opposition, even after strong efforts by the government to improve the political climate surrounding alcoholic climate, has led to a very small if any fall in alcohol consumption rates. In the future, there should be a deeper quantitative and qualitative research surrounding alcoholic consumption.