Vodka vs. Fortified Wine in Russia: Retrospective View.

Abstract

It is pointed out in the article by Razvodovsky (2015), encompassing the period 1970–2013, that vodka has been a predominant form of alcohol consumed in Russia and the former Soviet Union (SU). It should be commented that fortified wines (alcohol concentration around 17–19% by volume) were massively produced and sold till 1986–1987. There are no reliable statistics but it is obvious for an inside observer that, especially in the period between the two anti-alcohol campaigns (1972–1985), the part taken by the fortified wines was considerable, being larger than that of vodka at least in some parts of the country. According to the author's observations, in Moscow, fortified wines constituted a greater part of the consumed alcohol during that period than vodka; so it was also in many other regions. This proportion was largely preserved also during the anti-alcohol campaign (1985–1988), when vodka price doubled, but relatively cheap wines were still available, acknowledging that their quality worsened and there were long queues at bottle stores. In 1972, the sales of vodka and other spirits on Sundays and between 7 p.m. and 11 a.m. on all other days were prohibited. However, after 7 p.m. till the closing of shops at 8–10 p.m., and on Sundays, fortified and other wines were sold. Some fortified wines were poor quality, resulting in more severe intoxications and hangovers than vodka. The cheapest fortified wine was named in vernacular ‘bormotukha’—the mumbler. It acted stupefying; intoxicated individuals sometimes mumbled indeed and lost control over their speech and actions. It was obviously caused by poor-quality alcohol, i.e. substances other than ethanol occurring naturally in alcoholic beverages (Rohsenow and Howland, 2010) or additives. The poor quality …