Social Factor of Russia

Social Factors

Eastern Europe countries such as Russia have historically had high alcohol consumption and this consumption recently has been increasing rapidly as Eastern Europeans has adapting to a more Western European lifestyle. The consumption of beer among Russians has risen from 33.5 liters per capita in year 2000, to 60 liters per capita in 2005 and reaches 85 liters per capita in year 2010.

Russian tradition insists on behaviors associated with binge drinking. For example, one must drink their beverage until the glass is empty and the host always ensures that the guests’ glasses are always full. Besides, Russia’s government creates dependence on hard alcohol by promoting it for centuries indirectly encourage alcoholism culture among Russian.

Vodka and beer are “braided into the Russia’s national identity itself” (Stack, 2009, para. 8). Moreover, this consumption is unlike that in most other high-consumption countries, as Russians tend to “drink heavily in single settings, rather than drink moderate amounts over several days or weeks”, and by the early twentieth century, over consumption of alcohol was considered a part of Russian character and culture (Duncan, 2007, p. 1).

Some find the problem to be so embedded in the Russian identity as to make it impossible to resolve (McKee, 1999, p. 828). Even Russians themselves acknowledge their drinking as a part of who they are, as construction worker Vladimir Pik, explaining his reasons for believing Medvedev‟s plans will fail, puts it, “The Russian man will always be drinking. Russians don’t surrender” (Stack, 2009, para. 21).

Russians will not drink alone. To avoid being viewed as an alcoholic, one needs to drink in a group (Koester, 2001, p. 5). This circle of drinking friends brings with it a special bond and trust, further strengthening alcohol’s role as a social tool. Koester (2001) describes the special trust held between two drinking friends in a Siberian village, and the loss of that trust and...