00:00They say that the view from your childhood window leaves an indelible mark on your personality.
00:06I was born in the USSR, in a city called Gorky, which means bitter.
00:13Out my window, I could see three towering factory smokestacks, a train station and a beer kiosk.
00:21Every day at 5 p.m. I'd climb up onto the windowsill and wait for my mom to come home
00:27from work.
00:28We lived on the third floor, and from my vantage point, I could see the endless floor of factory workers
00:36streaming out of the underground tunnel.
00:39Women hurried home or to the shops, while the men headed straight to the beer kiosk, forming a massive line.
00:48My grandfather had brought home a German binocular from the war, and I'd often use it to examine the people
00:54below.
00:55Sometimes they'd get into fights, sometimes they'd collapse and lie there on the ground for hours as if dead, and
01:05sometimes the police would come for them.
01:08If not everyone drunk themselves senseless, it certainly seemed like many did.
01:13I have my own theory as to why Russia developed such a powerful attraction to self-destruction.
01:21My name is Elvira Bari, I'm a writer, and on this channel I share my insights into history, philosophy, personal
01:29growth, and literature.
01:35The scale of drinking in Russia can be illustrated by one of my childhood memories.
01:41I lived near an enormous car factory that employed over 30,000 people.
01:48Once, I went out to the vast empty parking lot in front of the main gates.
01:55Normally, it would be filled with cars waiting for sale, but that day, they'd all been moved, and the entire
02:02lot was covered in shiny little circles, like someone had scattered thousands of silver coins.
02:10These were vodka bottle caps.
02:13After their shifts, workers would buy a vodka from elderly women who waited near the gates, drink it right there
02:21on the parking lot, and toss the caps on the ground.
02:24The summer heat had softened the asphalt, and the caps were embodied in it like permanent fixtures.
02:38Drinking in Russia was largely a male activity, and that fact tells us a lot.
02:45Most men fall under their hunter personality archetype, which means they are naturally driven to provide for their families, defend
02:53them, win against rivals, and pursue accomplishments that earn admiration from their peers.
02:59The behavioral programs that govern us are ancient.
03:04Our civilization is only a few thousand years old, and biologically, we are no different from our Ice Age ancestors.
03:12But our circumstances have changed drastically, often making it impossible for people to fulfill their natural purpose.
03:21You can identify someone's purpose by looking at their interests and fears.
03:27Hunters are drawn to things that help them win, earn prizes, and elevate their status.
03:35They'll endure any hardship and achieve remarkable things.
03:40But they need to understand why they are on the hunt.
03:43If you're interested in discovering your personality archetype, take the quiz on my website.
03:48The link is in the description.
03:55The Soviet system repressed hunters at every turn, because they were the most likely to resist the dictatorship.
04:03Soviet bureaucrats did not think in terms of purpose and archetypes, but their own subconscious told them exactly how to
04:11neutralize the hunter's energy.
04:13So no one would dare challenge the status quo.
04:17The Soviet hunter wasn't a provider.
04:20What could he buy in empty stores or on a meager salary?
04:24He had no rights.
04:26He could not protect himself or his family.
04:29The hunter had no freedom of movement.
04:31In the USSR, you could not choose where to live.
04:34You settled whenever housing was assigned to you.
04:38A hunter instinctively wants to make an impression on others, especially the opposite sex.
04:44They crave admiration and approval from their loved ones.
04:49But unless a hunter was a part of the Communist Party or had valuable connections,
04:55his trophies were things like honorary certificates or holiday food packages,
05:01maybe a can of mayonnaise and some canned peas.
05:05There was no private business in the USSR, and career advancement was out of reach for many.
05:12How far could you go as a factory worker or a miner?
05:16Even if you were a top-notch specialist, you couldn't accumulate wealth,
05:21and your productivity had no impact on your well-being.
05:26In other words, the hunter was physically unable to fulfill his main role.
05:32A hunter archetype craves validation from respected figures,
05:37tribal elders and other hunters, not from his wife or kids.
05:42Hunters need to see tangible proof of their success and feel valued.
05:48When they feel unwelcome or judged, they become angry,
05:53often leading to destructive drunken behavior.
05:56The few pleasures left to Soviet hunters were sports on TV and men's clubs
06:02that gathered outside beer kiosks, in garages or even on street corners.
06:08In Soviet folklore, one drunk often asks another,
06:11Do you respect me?
06:12It's a deeply symbolic question because respect is what the unlucky hunter yearns for most.
06:18Without it, he feels he has failed his life's mission.
06:23And when that happens, his ancient subconscious tells him
06:27he's just a drain on his tribe's resources.
06:30That's when a self-destructive program kicks in,
06:33pushing him to drink himself to death and make way for others more worthy.
06:38When alcoholism is widespread in male circles,
06:42vodka becomes a sort of ticket into the men's club.
06:46When fresh high school graduates joined factory workforce,
06:51the older men would send them off to buy booze,
06:53then allow them to hang out in their real men's group.
06:58A younger hunter's worthiness was determined by his drinking skills.
07:02Could he drink without getting plastered?
07:04Sneak a bottle into the factory or dash to the straw mid-shift?
07:09A hunter's nature doesn't change.
07:11He'll always seek out victories,
07:13even if it's just sneaking past to the guard at the factory gate.
07:22Vodka was the only available anti-depressant for Soviet people.
07:27After every horrific war of the 20th century,
07:30veterans returned with severe post-traumatic stress disorder,
07:34which, of course, went untreated.
07:36The Stalinist purges and mass arrests didn't help either.
07:40From what we can tell,
07:42undiagnosed depression was rampant in the USSR.
07:46People felt trapped with no way out.
07:49That's why Soviet art often has a haunting sadness to it.
07:54In America, people sing happy birthday.
07:57In the USSR, we had a children's song
08:00that went clumsy pedestrians splash through puddles.
08:04It's sung by a crocodile playing an accordion.
08:08Very melancholic for a cartoon song.
08:11If you'd like to hear it,
08:12just ask in the comments,
08:14and I'll drop you a link.
08:15My grandfather,
08:16a dashing colonel,
08:18began drinking after he was discharged from the army
08:21due to health issues.
08:22He had been a commander of a military base,
08:25and suddenly,
08:26he was a pensioneer with nothing to do.
08:29There was literally nothing waiting for him in the future.
08:35Growing up,
08:36I constantly heard stories
08:38of various talented craftsmen and inventors
08:41who drank themselves to death.
08:43They tried to make things,
08:45but the management didn't care
08:47about their clever ideas or innovations.
08:50It just created extra hassle.
08:54Nobody cared about profit or efficiency.
08:58Without the approval of the bosses,
09:01you couldn't even make
09:02the smallest changes in production.
09:04Every enterprise belonged to the state,
09:06and its fate was decided far away
09:09in accordance with party directives
09:11and their five-year plan.
09:13As a result,
09:14millions of talented people
09:16who could have contributed
09:17something valuable to the world
09:19felt utterly unfulfilled.
09:23Simply because the system
09:24did not allow them
09:25to bring their ideas to life.
09:28The same thing happened in creative fields.
09:31Countless actors, writers, artists,
09:34and musicians
09:35drank themselves into oblivion.
09:38After four generations under Soviet rule,
09:40alcohol had become
09:41such an integral part of life
09:43that it was practically
09:45a symbol of masculinity
09:46and a must-have for any celebration.
09:49A rare chance to relax
09:51and forget everyday worries.
09:54Vodka was used to pay drivers,
09:57porters, and plumbers.
09:59Friendships were forged
10:00over a glass of beer.
10:03Pricy alcohol served
10:04as a bribe for professors and doctors.
10:12But there is another surprising aspect.
10:17Drinking in the USSR
10:18was a form of personal freedom.
10:22Drunks were pitied.
10:23They were falling apart
10:25right in front of everybody's eyes
10:26and a lot was forgiven.
10:29Absenteeism
10:30or even cursing the boss.
10:31Echoes of this tradition
10:33can still be seen today.
10:34Former Russian president
10:36Dmitry Medvedev
10:37was once seen as a liberal
10:38and a strong supporter of the West.
10:41But with the return of dictatorship in Russia,
10:44he's under serious threat.
10:47Right now,
10:48he's saving himself
10:49by playing the role of the trunk
10:52and posting wild nuances
10:54on his Telegram channel.
10:56ChatGPT translates it into English,
10:58but in Russian,
10:59his texts are even cruder.
11:02No one knows
11:03if Medvedev is really drinking.
11:06But so far,
11:07he hasn't been arrested.
11:08So his strategy seems to be working.
11:16In case you were wondering,
11:18the gesture
11:19men used to offer someone a trick
11:21looked like this.
11:24Subscribe.
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