Paul Goble
Staunton, July 28 – Faced with a rising tide of alcoholism, the Russian government is behaving in the same way its Soviet predecessors did, imposing new restrictions on the sale of alcohol rather than addressing the causes of alcoholism, Russian commentators say. As a result, Russian drinkers are increasingly consuming moonshine and dangerous surrogates.
Among those offering that conclusion are Ilya Grashchenkov, a specialist on regional issues, and Nikolay Yarmenko, the editor-in-chief of the Rosbalt news agency (rosbalt.ru/news/2025-07-28/ilya-graschenkov-rossiya-snova-nastupaet-na-antialkogolnye-grabli-5445033 and rosbalt.ru/news/2025-07-28/protiv-zdravogo-smysla-i-statistiki-komu-vygoden-alkogolnyy-samostrel-5444964).
Their words come in response to a Moscow plan to ban the sale of alcohol except between the hours of 1100 am and 700 pm during the week as well as during weekends and on holidays and calls to raise the legal drinking age to 21. Such actions will return Russia to where it was in the 1970s if not the 1990s.
Available data suggest that these restrictions will do little or nothing, except perhaps enrich both the siloviki who will pocket bribes and the producers of samogon as moonshine is known in Russia and the taxi drivers who will sell it when sales of official alcohol are not allowed (svpressa.ru/society/article/474916/).
By reviving the failed approach of the Soviets, Moscow will do little to reduce drinking but will boost the number of deaths among Russians as a result of their consumption of samogon, as moonshine is known in Russia, and even more dangerous surrogates like perfume and cleaning products Russian drinkers turn to when they can’t get regular alcohol.
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