- 8 minutes ago
Russia’s vodka obsession hides a darker truth — power, money, and control.
👉 What World Leaders NEED to Know about Russia: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6d9EIByxz1AdkmIOYUlrDd0rmByq5zSN
Vodka is more than a drink in Russia — it’s a currency, a weapon, and a lifeline. Behind the stereotypes lies a centuries-old story of politics, power, and survival. From czarist monopolies to Soviet shortages and today’s wartime anxiety, vodka has shaped Russia’s destiny in ways few outsiders understand. In this video, Elvira Bary uncovers the cold truth about Russia’s love for vodka - and why it’s far more than just a national cliché.
Video Chapters:
00:00 What Nobody Tells You About Russia’s Love for Vodka
01:01 Why Russians Started Drinking Vodka
06:07 Vodka and the Russian Czars
10:43 The Vodka Monopoly
16:25 Vodka in the Soviet Union and Beyond
👉 JOIN ME ON THE JOURNEY Sign-up for news about the New Book here: https://elvirabary.com/elvira-barys-newsletter/
MY HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK SERIES
➡️ Russian Treasures (a historical novel about the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War) https://amzn.to/43PutaM
➡️ The White Ghosts' Empire (a historical novel about the Russian r
👉 What World Leaders NEED to Know about Russia: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6d9EIByxz1AdkmIOYUlrDd0rmByq5zSN
Vodka is more than a drink in Russia — it’s a currency, a weapon, and a lifeline. Behind the stereotypes lies a centuries-old story of politics, power, and survival. From czarist monopolies to Soviet shortages and today’s wartime anxiety, vodka has shaped Russia’s destiny in ways few outsiders understand. In this video, Elvira Bary uncovers the cold truth about Russia’s love for vodka - and why it’s far more than just a national cliché.
Video Chapters:
00:00 What Nobody Tells You About Russia’s Love for Vodka
01:01 Why Russians Started Drinking Vodka
06:07 Vodka and the Russian Czars
10:43 The Vodka Monopoly
16:25 Vodka in the Soviet Union and Beyond
👉 JOIN ME ON THE JOURNEY Sign-up for news about the New Book here: https://elvirabary.com/elvira-barys-newsletter/
MY HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK SERIES
➡️ Russian Treasures (a historical novel about the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War) https://amzn.to/43PutaM
➡️ The White Ghosts' Empire (a historical novel about the Russian r
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Vodka. Few words are tied to Russia as tightly as this one.
00:06For many in the West, the image appears instantly.
00:11A country where vodka flows like water,
00:14where every family dinner ends with a toast,
00:17and where drunkenness has become almost a national emblem.
00:22But behind the cliché of the endless vodka glass
00:25lies something far darker.
00:29Vodka wasn't just a drink.
00:32It was, and still is, a tool of control
00:36and one of the state's most reliable sources of revenue,
00:41shaping Russia's destiny across centuries.
00:44My name is Alvera Barry.
00:47I was born in the Soviet Union,
00:48and today I want to show you the cold truth,
00:52how a clear bottle of spirits paid for Russia's wars,
00:57fueled its economy and numbed the pain of millions.
01:06Alcohol has been around since the dawn of humanity,
01:10and not just for people.
01:12Just the other day, a friend told me about the cherry trees in her garden.
01:16When the fruit falls and ferments,
01:19the ground becomes littered with tipsy thrushes.
01:24Alcohol has never made anyone healthier.
01:27But for a brief moment,
01:29it has always made people feel lighter,
01:32a little braver,
01:34a little less afraid,
01:36a little calmer about what lies ahead.
01:38Of course, that only works for those who can digest it.
01:43Not everyone can.
01:45Genetics plays a part.
01:47Some nations struggle to process alcohol at all,
01:51while others seem almost built for it.
01:54For most of human history, though,
01:56alcohol wasn't about just pleasure.
01:58People didn't know about bacteria,
02:00and they didn't boil their water.
02:02Besides, who had the time or endless firewood for that?
02:06So cholera, dysentery,
02:09and countless other diseases were constant companions.
02:13Homemade alcoholic drinks, on the other hand,
02:16were safe.
02:17And a bonus,
02:19they made life a little more bearable
02:21when death lurked around every corner.
02:25So, the world adapted.
02:28Where grapes grew, people made wine.
02:31Where wheat grew, they brewed beer.
02:34In the Eurasian steppes,
02:36people fermented mare's milk.
02:38In Old Rus, they made mead.
02:42The real breakthrough came from the Arabs,
02:45who first learned to distill alcohol for medicine.
02:49Later, in medieval Poland,
02:51vodka became a staple of noble feasts.
02:55Lively, unruly gatherings
02:57that symbolized the nobles' almost unchecked freedom.
03:01Interestingly, Poland's historical decline
03:03as a once-powerful state
03:05seems to have coincided with this very vodka craze.
03:09At the time,
03:10Moskovy looked at Poland as a trendsetter.
03:13Polish clothing,
03:15Polish manners,
03:16and of course,
03:17Polish vodka.
03:19Once it arrived in Russia,
03:21it spread fast,
03:22from noble houses down to peasant huts.
03:25Why?
03:25Because vodka was the cheapest frill available.
03:30Human beings are wired to seek new experiences.
03:33That instinct dates back to the Ice Age,
03:36when our ancestors lived on dry grasslands
03:39and followed massive herds across endless plains.
03:43For them,
03:44standing still meant starving.
03:47Boredom wasn't just unpleasant,
03:50it was dangerous.
03:51And that fear of boredom
03:53still lingers in our subconscious.
03:55Now imagine the life of a medieval Russian peasant,
03:59chained to their same strip of land
04:01with no adventures,
04:03no travel,
04:04and no change in scenery.
04:06Alcohol provided the only reliable escape,
04:09a shift in consciousness,
04:12and a break from crushing monotony.
04:15In cities,
04:16it was even worse.
04:17Before public parks,
04:19theaters,
04:20or mass entertainment,
04:21the average person's world
04:23was just one dark,
04:25smoky room
04:26and the same gray street outside.
04:28The only events were fights,
04:31fires,
04:32and public executions.
04:34And vodka did something else.
04:35It became the only therapy
04:37most people ever knew.
04:39Stress,
04:40loneliness,
04:41trauma,
04:42family conflict,
04:43the same human burdens we carry today.
04:45For some,
04:47prayer offered relief,
04:48but prayer required guidance,
04:51a good priest who could teach you
04:53how to pray
04:54and shape a spiritual worldview.
04:57And priests back then
04:58weren't chosen by their communities.
05:01They were appointed.
05:03Many were poorly trained,
05:06indifferent,
05:06or corrupt.
05:08Here's a joke that sums it up perfectly.
05:10Ammon is sitting in a tavern
05:12drinking vodka.
05:13A priest sees him
05:15through the open window,
05:16walks in,
05:17and begins to scold him.
05:19How can you waste your life
05:20in this den of sin and depravity?
05:23There's no depravity here,
05:25Father.
05:26Father Mikhail,
05:27the priest,
05:28interrupts angrily.
05:30Drunkenness is
05:31abomination before the Lord.
05:33Well,
05:34Father Mikhail,
05:35have you ever tried it yourself?
05:37asked the man.
05:38Of course not.
05:39How could you even suggest such a thing?
05:41What would people say
05:42if they saw a priest
05:44drinking spirits?
05:46I'll ask them to serve yours
05:48in a teacup,
05:49the man replies.
05:50The priest hesitates,
05:52then reluctantly agrees.
05:55The man goes up to the bar
05:57and says,
05:58Hey,
05:58give me two vodkas,
05:59but pour one into a teacup.
06:01The bartender turns around
06:03and sighs.
06:04What?
06:05Father Mikhail again?
06:12The early Russian rulers
06:13almost always struggled with money.
06:16Not because they were careless,
06:18but because there was simply nothing
06:20to take from their subjects.
06:23And nation's wealth rests on harvests,
06:26natural resources,
06:27and trade.
06:28And the early Russian state
06:30faced problems with all three.
06:32There was just enough
06:34to fund the status games
06:36of the Russian elite,
06:37but very little to build roads,
06:40bridges,
06:41stone architecture,
06:42or a capable standing army.
06:44Moscow won many of its wars
06:47not through highly disciplined,
06:49well-paid soldiers,
06:51but because its neighbors
06:53were weakened
06:53by other conflicts,
06:55epidemics,
06:56poor harvests,
06:57succession crises,
06:59or some unlucky combination
07:01of them all.
07:02Trade was weak.
07:04With few roads
07:06and no real seaports,
07:08commerce was confined
07:09to rivers,
07:10and rivers were easy
07:12to control by anyone
07:14with weapons and boats.
07:16For centuries,
07:17Russian producers
07:19could take part
07:20in foreign trade
07:21only with state backing,
07:23a privilege
07:24completely out of reach
07:26for the common peasant.
07:28For most peasants,
07:29it was simpler
07:30and far safer
07:32to leave off their land.
07:34Why chase money
07:35when there was nothing
07:36to spend it on?
07:37And if you did manage
07:39to earn a little extra,
07:41you risked attracting envy
07:43from your neighbors
07:44or suspicion
07:46from your landlord,
07:47who might be only
07:48slightly better off
07:50than his serfs.
07:51Why invite trouble
07:53onto your own head?
07:54And if a peasant
07:55had no money,
07:56what could the state
07:57seize from him?
07:58Grain,
07:59a few vegetables,
08:01maybe a chicken,
08:02but those had to be
08:03stored and resold,
08:05all costly
08:06and inconvenient
08:07for the treasury.
08:08There was only one thing
08:10peasants were always
08:11willing to pay for –
08:12vodka.
08:13A small indulgence
08:15that made life
08:16feel lighter
08:17even for a night.
08:19Vodka became
08:20a kind of holiday
08:21in itself.
08:22The Orthodox Church,
08:24with its endless calendar
08:25of fasting days,
08:26only reinforced that idea.
08:28When you worked,
08:30you fasted,
08:31sober and restrained.
08:33When you rested,
08:34you could drink.
08:36Alcohol became
08:37inseparable
08:38from the very notion
08:39of rest.
08:40And the state
08:41noticed.
08:42Until the mid-18th century,
08:44most peasants
08:45drank weak homemade drinks,
08:47mead or beer.
08:48But under Empress Elizabeth,
08:50those beverages
08:51were hid
08:52with heavy new taxes.
08:54They suddenly became
08:56too expensive
08:57for common people.
08:58Meanwhile,
08:59state-made vodka
09:00was kept cheap.
09:02It was no accident.
09:04The Russian government
09:06had discovered
09:07a reliable way
09:08to earn money,
09:09encouraging its people
09:11to drink.
09:12Over time,
09:13vodka developed
09:13its own prestige
09:14and traditions.
09:16Catherine the Great
09:16went even further.
09:18She corresponded
09:19with European quarts
09:20and Enlightenment fingers
09:21and sent bottles
09:22of Russian vodka
09:23as gifts.
09:24A statement
09:25that Russia's
09:26national drink
09:27could stand proudly
09:28beside French cognac.
09:30And for many foreigners,
09:32with little else
09:34to judge Russia by,
09:35vodka became
09:36the country's
09:38calling card.
09:39Catherine also
09:40lifted the state monopoly,
09:42allowing the nobility
09:43to produce
09:44and sell vodka.
09:45They paid the crown
09:47a fixed fee
09:48and then
09:49set whatever
09:50prices they wished.
09:52For the first time,
09:54real money
09:54began flowing
09:55into the Russian
09:56countryside.
09:58Small and middle
09:59landowners
10:00could now
10:00accumulate wealth.
10:02They built
10:02estates,
10:04sent their sons
10:05to study,
10:06traveled,
10:06if only to
10:07the nearest monastery,
10:09dressed in
10:09European fashion
10:10and filled
10:11their evenings
10:12with more than
10:13folk tales
10:14about swamp devils.
10:16Vodka money
10:17jump-started
10:18the rural economy.
10:19It funded
10:20tools,
10:22seeds and trade
10:23and profits
10:24followed.
10:25And the nobility,
10:26grateful,
10:27supported the crown
10:28that had allowed
10:29them to prosper.
10:30It's said
10:31one reason
10:31Tsar Paul I
10:33was murdered
10:33was that
10:34he wanted to
10:35take it all back,
10:36restoring the state
10:37monopoly on
10:38vodka
10:39and seizing
10:40from the nobles
10:40what they called
10:41their cash cow.
10:48Throughout the
10:49first half
10:50of the 19th century,
10:51the Russian state
10:52wrestled with
10:53the problem
10:53how to restore
10:55its monopoly
10:56on vodka.
10:57It was the same
10:58dilemma that China
10:59faced in the
10:5919th century
11:00but with vodka
11:02instead of opium.
11:03On one hand,
11:05vodka brought
11:05enormous revenue.
11:07On the other hand,
11:08it destroyed
11:09people's lives
11:10and families.
11:11Breaking the old
11:12system of private
11:13leases was
11:13harder than
11:14abolishing
11:15serfdom.
11:16By then,
11:17vodka-mari
11:17tied together
11:18the entire
11:19local bureaucracy
11:20from clerks
11:21to governors.
11:22And since
11:22the bureaucracy
11:23itself was
11:24made up of
11:25nobles,
11:25they fought
11:26reforms
11:27tooth and nail.
11:29Still,
11:30the crown
11:30eventually won.
11:32Until 1894,
11:34Russia used
11:34an excise system
11:35much like today.
11:37Private producers
11:38made alcohol,
11:39paid taxes
11:40to the state
11:40and sold it
11:42in licensed
11:43taverns,
11:43restaurants and
11:44shops.
11:45Wine and beer
11:46remained drinks
11:47for the nobility.
11:49Wine was far
11:50too expensive.
11:51Vineyards
11:52were only
11:52in the south.
11:54Brewing traditions
11:55had long
11:56been lost
11:56and though
11:58some tried
11:59to revive them,
12:00the demand
12:00for vodka
12:01crushed any
12:02hope of
12:03commercial success.
12:04The common
12:05people flocked
12:06to cheap
12:07taverns
12:08where vodka
12:09reigned supreme.
12:10Most drinkers
12:11were factory
12:12workers.
12:13Moving from
12:14the village
12:14to a city
12:15job was
12:15considered
12:16prestigious.
12:17It meant
12:18cash wages.
12:19But the
12:20conditions
12:20were brutal.
12:22No safety
12:23standards,
12:23no ventilation,
12:25no cooling.
12:26I remember
12:27visiting a
12:28Soviet factory
12:28floor in
12:29the 1980s
12:30where car
12:31parts were
12:31being made.
12:32the fondue
12:33of machines
12:34was deafening.
12:36People
12:36endured that
12:37day after
12:38day.
12:39And that
12:40was the
12:40end of
12:40the 20th
12:41century.
12:42A hundred
12:42years earlier
12:43it was
12:44much worse.
12:46For these
12:46workers
12:47vodka
12:47was their
12:48only joy.
12:49Most still
12:49had families
12:50in the village
12:50to support.
12:51They sent
12:52their wages
12:53home and
12:54had little
12:54left for
12:55themselves.
12:56What choices
12:57did they have
12:58for leisure?
12:59Almost
12:59none.
13:01Many
13:02were
13:02illiterate,
13:03lonely and
13:04exhausted.
13:05Buying
13:05an
13:06accordion
13:06to play
13:07or paying
13:08a teacher
13:08to learn
13:09was out
13:10of reach.
13:11Vodka
13:11was simple.
13:13Vodka
13:13was possible.
13:14It's
13:15human
13:15nature
13:16for men
13:16to seek
13:17respect
13:17and the
13:17company
13:18of other
13:18men.
13:19In
13:19prehistoric
13:20times
13:20that urge
13:21forged
13:22the bonds
13:22that made
13:23hunting and
13:24raiding
13:24parties
13:25possible.
13:26And
13:26those bonds
13:27often meant
13:28the difference
13:28between
13:29life and
13:30death.
13:30We also
13:32carry a
13:32deep
13:32instinct
13:33to share
13:34meals,
13:34a ritual
13:35that reinforces
13:36our support
13:37networks.
13:38So,
13:39when factory
13:40workers found
13:40themselves without
13:41family around,
13:43they naturally
13:44followed those
13:45old instincts.
13:46They sought
13:47out
13:48buddies,
13:49shared a
13:49meal,
13:50and talked
13:51about men's
13:52business.
13:53In that setting,
13:54vodka became a
13:55kind of ticket
13:56into the men's
13:57club.
13:57And the
13:58young workers,
13:59fresh from
13:59the villages,
14:00were eager
14:01to join in
14:02to prove
14:02they could
14:03do what
14:03the adults
14:04did.
14:05At the
14:05end of
14:06the 19th
14:06century,
14:07the state
14:07finally imposed
14:08a full
14:09monopoly on
14:09alcohol.
14:11Distilled
14:11spirits,
14:11mostly made
14:12in the
14:13villages
14:13during the
14:13winter
14:14from
14:14potatoes,
14:15were handed
14:16over to
14:17state enterprises.
14:18There,
14:19they were
14:20watered down
14:20and sold
14:21as vodka.
14:22Prices
14:22were deliberately
14:23kept low
14:24to make
14:25moonshining
14:26unprofitable.
14:27Vodka was
14:28sold only
14:28in state-run
14:29wine shops
14:30with fixed
14:31prices and
14:32standardized
14:32menu.
14:33Drinking
14:34on the
14:34premises
14:35was banned,
14:36the idea
14:37being that
14:38a man
14:38would carry
14:39the bottle
14:39home where
14:40his family
14:40would keep
14:41him in
14:41check.
14:42In reality,
14:43most drank
14:44right outside
14:45the shop.
14:46License
14:47were cheap
14:48and soon
14:48the Tsar
14:49was accused
14:50of deliberately
14:51intoxicating
14:52the people.
14:52By
14:531915,
14:55vodka
14:56accounted
14:56for 26%
14:58of the
14:59state budget.
15:00Then
15:00came
15:011914.
15:02At the
15:03outbreak
15:04of World
15:05War I,
15:06records
15:06stormed
15:07liquor
15:07stores
15:08smashing
15:09windows
15:09and drinking
15:10heavily
15:10before heading
15:11to the
15:11front.
15:12After all
15:13they fought,
15:14nothing worse
15:14awaited them
15:15than the
15:16trenches.
15:16The Tsar
15:17responded
15:18with a
15:18sweeping
15:19ban on
15:19alcohol,
15:20but vodka
15:21had been
15:21providing
15:22more than
15:23a quarter
15:23of the
15:24empire's
15:25income.
15:26Industries
15:26tied to
15:27alcohol
15:28collapsed,
15:28and people
15:29did not
15:30stop drinking,
15:31they turned
15:31to lamp
15:32fuel,
15:33cologne,
15:33and alcohol-based
15:35medicines
15:35from pharmacies.
15:37With
15:37exports of
15:38oil,
15:39timber,
15:39and other
15:39raw materials
15:40cut off
15:41by war,
15:41the empire
15:42bankrupt
15:43itself in
15:44the name
15:44of public
15:45health,
15:45all while
15:46sending millions
15:47of men
15:48to die.
15:48Its
15:49other major
15:50source of
15:50revenue,
15:51the state
15:51monopoly on
15:52rail transport,
15:53also collapsed.
15:54Trains now
15:55carried troops
15:56and weapons
15:57instead of
15:58paying passengers.
16:00Salaries for
16:01officials went
16:01unpaid,
16:03budgets for
16:03infrastructure
16:04dried up,
16:05the machinery
16:06of the state
16:06began to crumble.
16:08The Russian
16:09revolution of
16:101917 became
16:11possible only
16:12because the
16:12treasury was
16:13empty and
16:15those expected
16:16to maintain
16:17order were
16:18either at
16:19the front
16:19or unwilling
16:21to work for
16:21free while
16:22prices for
16:23everything
16:24skyrocketed.
16:29The
16:30Bolsheviks
16:30despised
16:31everything the
16:32czars had
16:33done, but
16:34they kept
16:35the vodka
16:35ban.
16:36Yet, when
16:37a population
16:37lives under
16:38constant stress,
16:39with terror,
16:40hunger, and
16:41epidemics,
16:42as daily
16:42news, people
16:44will always
16:44look for
16:45relief.
16:46At the same
16:46time, the
16:47Bolsheviks
16:47began seizing
16:48grain from
16:49peasants, paying
16:50almost nothing
16:51in return.
16:52So, the
16:52peasants stopped
16:53bringing their
16:54crops to
16:55market.
16:56Instead, they
16:57preserved it
16:58in the most
16:59durable form
17:00they knew.
17:01Spirits.
17:02People drank
17:03as if judgment
17:04day were
17:05around the
17:05corner.
17:06Newly
17:06appointed
17:07Bolshevik
17:08officials often
17:08led the
17:09way.
17:10After all,
17:10they believed
17:11their
17:11proletarian
17:12republic could
17:13collapse any
17:14day, and
17:15their next
17:16stop might
17:17be hanging
17:18from a
17:18lamppost.
17:20And unlike
17:21their starving
17:22countrymen, they
17:23had the
17:23resources to
17:24buy alcohol.
17:25The black
17:26market flourished.
17:27I explore this
17:28world in detail in
17:29my historical novel
17:30Russian Treasures.
17:31Judging by the
17:32refuse, readers
17:33have really
17:34enjoyed it, and
17:35I'm glad I can
17:36bring Russian
17:37history to life.
17:38The link is
17:39in the description.
17:41After the
17:42civil war, Russia
17:43lay in ruins.
17:45The Bolsheviks had
17:46no choice but to
17:47end prohibition.
17:49Without vodka, the
17:50country's finances
17:51couldn't be
17:52repaired.
17:53To protect the
17:54image of a
17:54sober
17:55proletariat, 85%
17:57of vodka was
17:57shipped to the
17:58countryside.
17:59And each
18:00year, the
18:01state quietly
18:02raised the
18:03price.
18:03Those vodka
18:04revenues became
18:05a lifeline for
18:06industrialization.
18:08Officially, the
18:09government condemned
18:10drunkenness.
18:11In reality, many
18:12drank, even
18:13top officials.
18:15How else could
18:16you cope with
18:16their constant
18:17fear of
18:18arrest?
18:18In 1939, as
18:20the USSR launched
18:21new wars attacking
18:23Finland than the
18:24Baltic states and
18:25Poland, vodka
18:26became part of
18:28the soldiers'
18:29Russian.
18:29It was given
18:30for courage, and
18:32because people
18:32believed it
18:33warned the
18:34body in the
18:35winter cold.
18:36During World
18:36War II, vodka
18:37was sent to
18:38the front in
18:39railway tank
18:40cars.
18:41But the
18:41effect was
18:42grim.
18:43Veterans later
18:44recalled that
18:44experienced
18:45soldiers avoided
18:46drinking, while
18:47frightened young
18:48men drank and
18:50often died soon
18:51after.
18:51By the time
18:53Stalin died, vodka
18:54that cost 4
18:55rubles to
18:56produce sold
18:57for 40.
18:58The country
18:59drank heavily,
19:00numbing post-traumatic
19:02scars of the
19:03war with every
19:04bottle.
19:04alcohol became
19:06part of daily
19:07life, woven
19:08into jokes,
19:09films, and
19:10novels.
19:11Writers and
19:11actors drank
19:12openly, and
19:13society forgave
19:14them.
19:15After all,
19:16wasn't life
19:17unbearably hard
19:18and hopeless?
19:19More than
19:20that, refusing a
19:21drink aroused
19:22suspicion.
19:23People might
19:23think you were
19:24gravely ill,
19:26that you didn't
19:27want to be part
19:27of the group,
19:28or that you
19:29considered yourself
19:30above everyone
19:31else.
19:31Vodka became
19:33a currency.
19:33People paid
19:34with it.
19:35To thank
19:35someone and
19:36avoid the
19:36risk of
19:37bribes being
19:38discovered,
19:39you poured
19:39them a glass.
19:41Everyone
19:41did it.
19:42My own
19:43father didn't
19:43drink, but
19:44we always
19:45kept vodka
19:45in the house
19:46for barter.
19:47We had
19:48nowhere else
19:48to store it,
19:49so it sat
19:50hidden inside
19:50my piano.
19:52Under
19:52Brezhnev,
19:53vodka prices
19:53stayed stable.
19:55But when
19:55the war in
19:56Afghanistan
19:57drained the
19:57treasury,
19:58the state
19:59raised vodka
20:00prices, and
20:00people felt
20:01as if the
20:02very foundations
20:03of life were
20:04under attack.
20:05By the
20:061980s, vodka
20:08and oil made
20:09up the
20:09backbone of
20:10the Soviet
20:11budget.
20:12Oil for
20:13export, vodka
20:14for the
20:14home front.
20:15Then disaster
20:17struck.
20:17Oil prices
20:18collapsed, and
20:19Gorbachev
20:20launched his
20:21anti-alcohol
20:22campaign.
20:23Prices
20:23doubled, the
20:24public was
20:25furious, and
20:26mass moonshining
20:28returned.
20:29Demographers
20:30later estimated
20:30the campaign
20:31saved up to
20:32a million
20:33lives.
20:34Life
20:35expectancy
20:35rose, death
20:37rates fell.
20:38But the
20:39budget was
20:40starved.
20:41History
20:42repeated itself.
20:43Just as
20:44under
20:44Tsar
20:44Nicholas
20:45II, the
20:45country could
20:46not withstand
20:47the double
20:47blow, the
20:49collapse of
20:49foreign trade,
20:50and the
20:51loss of taxes
20:52from its
20:53most profitable
20:54domestic product.
20:55And it
20:56went bankrupt.
20:57Then, in
20:59early 1992, prices
21:02were liberalized.
21:03The
21:04ruble crashed, and
21:05drinking exploded.
21:07At factory
21:08gates and
21:09railway stations,
21:10women stood
21:11selling bottles
21:12of vodka, the
21:13quickest way to
21:14earn a living.
21:15One woman I
21:16knew, who
21:17later became a
21:18successful
21:18entrepreneur, told
21:20me she made
21:20her very first
21:22money this
21:22way.
21:23She was
21:23just 16.
21:24The
21:25Russian economy
21:26recovered as
21:27oil prices
21:28rose, and
21:29in the
21:29early years
21:30of Putin's
21:30rule, people
21:31enjoyed a
21:32level of
21:32prosperity and
21:33freedom they
21:34had never
21:35known in
21:35Russian history.
21:37Vodka's
21:37grip began
21:38to weaken
21:39because, for
21:39once, life
21:40no longer
21:41felt like
21:42endless
21:42suffering.
21:43There was
21:44hope.
21:45Men could
21:46support their
21:46families and
21:47feel like
21:47they mattered.
21:49Video
21:49games and
21:50abundance of
21:51movies and
21:52sports
21:52activities
21:53offered new
21:54leisure that
21:55didn't require
21:56drinking.
21:56And with
21:57more people
21:58buying cars,
21:59alcohol consumption
22:01dropped further.
22:02Wine and
22:03beer finally
22:04began replacing
22:05vodka as
22:06the drinks of
22:07choice at
22:07parties.
22:08Of course, the
22:09picture in big
22:09cities was far
22:10brighter than in
22:11declining rural
22:12areas and
22:13small towns.
22:14There, the
22:14drinking culture
22:15hardly changed.
22:16Work remained
22:18punishing,
22:19environments unhealthy
22:20and wages
22:21meager.
22:22Many felt
22:23shut out of
22:24the beautiful
22:24lives they
22:25saw on
22:25television and
22:26later on
22:27Instagram.
22:28When I was
22:28a child, it
22:29was common
22:29to see a
22:30drunk man
22:31sprawled on
22:32the steps of
22:32our apartment
22:33building,
22:34snoring.
22:35By the
22:36late 2010s,
22:38those sights
22:38had nearly
22:39vanished from
22:40big cities.
22:41It finally
22:42felt as
22:43though Russia
22:44had broken
22:44free of its
22:45endless cycle
22:46of grief and
22:47misery and
22:48had begun to
22:49truly live.
22:51But then,
22:52in February
22:532022, Russia
22:55attacked Ukraine
22:57and the vodka
22:58consumption began
22:59climbing again.
23:01The reasons
23:02are painfully
23:03familiar.
23:04Fear,
23:05anxiety and
23:06deep uncertainty
23:07about the
23:08future.
23:08And sadly,
23:10it only
23:11rise further.
23:12Because this
23:13war doesn't
23:14just claim the
23:15lives of those
23:16at the front,
23:17it consumes
23:18many others
23:19along the way.
23:20If this video
23:21helped you see
23:22Russia beyond
23:22the stereotypes,
23:23if it gave
23:24you a deeper
23:25sense of why
23:26vodka is more
23:28than just a
23:28drink here,
23:29please take a
23:30moment to
23:31like, share
23:31and subscribe.
23:32It's the easiest
23:33way to help
23:34this story reach
23:35others who
23:36need to hear it.
23:37If you'd like
23:38to support my
23:39work directly,
23:40there are
23:41several ways.
23:42You can click
23:43join,
23:44give a super
23:45thanks,
23:45buy me a coffee
23:46using the link
23:47below or use
23:48the donate
23:49via paypal
23:50button,
23:51also linked
23:52in the description.
23:53Every bit
23:54of support
23:54truly matters.
23:55And at the
23:56end of this
23:57video,
23:57you'll see
23:58the closing
23:58credits.
23:59That list
24:00is my
24:00think tank,
24:01one of the
24:02amazing groups
24:03whose support
24:04makes it
24:05possible for me
24:06to keep
24:06creating these
24:07stories.
24:28of the
Comments