As Cost of Registered and Taxed Alcoholic Beverages Rises, Russians are Brewing and Drinking More Moonshine, ‘Novosti’ Reports

Paul Goble     

            Staunton, May 25 -- As the cost of vodka and other officially registered alcoholic beverages rises, Russians are brewing and drinking more home-made moonshine, known as samogon. In the last year, purchases of samogon-making equipment rose by 37 percent to almost 9,000 rubles (90 US dollars).

            Also in the last 12 months, purchases of ingredients such as sugar have gone up by a third, yet another indication that Russians are brewing and drinking more home brew for personal consumption or sale to friends and neighbors, Novosti reports (svpressa.ru/economy/news/465877/ and ria.ru/20250526/spros-2019030228.html).

            The Russian government likes to take credit for declines in the amount of alcohol Russians are drinking, but its claims in that regard almost invariably ignore samogon production and consumption and the drinking of even more dangerous surrogates like perfume or cleaning products.

            With regard to samogon, the Russian authorities find themselves in a difficult position. On the one hand, they want Russians to drink alcohol on which taxes have been paid; but on the other, they don’t want them to shift to the more dangerous surrogates which is what has happened whenever the authorities have tried to reduce samogon production.

            Consequently, samogon equipment and production takes place quite freely in most of the country, but Moscow generally fails to report either production or consumption which may as much as double the total alcohol consumption of Russians at present to a level far greater than that which international health experts say has deleterious effects on their health.