Russia
Consumption of surrogate alcohol is a common problem in Russia, contributing to the high rate of alcohol-related deaths in the country. During the Soviet regime, alcoholic beverages were often among the only consumer goods affordable for the general public, leading to rampant alcoholism which is still present in modern Russia. In 1985, Gorbachev instituted alcohol reform, attempting to fight widespread alcoholism by increasing prices and reducing availability. These changes, however, led to the formation of a black market for alcohol, including surrogates. The dissolution of the Soviet Union caused a further spike in alcohol prices, leading more people to cheaper surrogate alcohol.
In Venedikt Yerofeyev's 1970 samizdat novella Moscow-Petushki, the unreliable narrator shares recipes for a variety of cocktails made with surrogate alcohol.
Read more about this topic: Surrogate Alcohol
Famous quotes containing the word russia:
“To believe that Russia has got rid of the evils of capitalism takes a special kind of mind. It is the same kind of mind that believes that a Holy Roller has got rid of sin.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“A fool may be a dangerous customer, but the fact of his having such a vulnerable top-end turns danger into a first-rate sport; and whatever defects the old administration in Russia had, it must be conceded that it possessed one outstanding virtue—a lack of brains.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“In my opinion it is harmful to place important things in the hands of philanthropy, which in Russia is marked by a chance character. Nor should important matters depend on leftovers, which are never there. I would prefer that the government treasury take care of it.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)