Alcohol Consumption in Russia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the main changes in alcohol consumption during the spread of coronavirus infection in Russia. The work is based on the results of an online survey of the urban working-age population aged 18–60+ (May-August 2020), as well as several waves of previous online studies (2009–2019) conducted by the Department of the Sociology of Deviant Behavior of the Federal Scientific Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The online surveys were accompanied by a secondary analysis of the available statistical and sociological data on the issues under study (Rosstat, Ministry of Health, VCIOM, the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE)), reflecting the indicators of alcohol consumption in various population groups. The paper examines what changes have occurred in patterns of drinking and everyday alcohol practices at the beginning of the pandemic (frequency and nature of alcohol consumption and intoxication, motives for consumption, attitudes towards alcohol) in different age and gender groups. It is shown that, despite the trend of the last ten years to reduce alcohol consumption, by the time of the pandemic, the alcohol situation in Russia remained tense. It was found that, although the pandemic did not lead to a widespread significant increase in alcohol consumption among the urban population, there were risk groups that increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic more than others. A number of social risk factors have been identified that have led to an increase in alcohol consumption in some populations. A number of social risk factors that have been catalysts for an increase in alcohol consumption in some population groups have been identified: 1) stress, 2) changes in social and material status, and 3) a high level of habitual alcohol consumption (the degree of alcoholization of an individual). The empirical data allows to make the following conclusions: although the pandemic has not led to a widespread significant increase in alcohol consumption among the urban population, there were risk groups that increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic more than others. The pandemic has intensified the negative trends of alcoholization of the urban population observed in the pre-pandemic period.