lbo-talk-digest V1 #6414

[joanna bujes]

At 02:17 AM 07/04/2002 -0400, Chris wrote:
>Because the average monthly wage was about 100 rubles, and a bottle of vodka
>cost 5 rubles -- 5% of your income. It was a serious purchase. Beer was very
>hard to get -- you had to stand in line for hours. Also, the Soviet
>authorities had very harsh anti-alcoholism campaigns, and alcoholics were
>guaranteed of treatment whether they wanted it or not. Owning a still was a
>one-way ticket to a year in the slammer. Things were somewhat different in
>republics like Georgia, where you had locally produced wine.

I'm not questioning what you write, but it contrasts strongly with the 
situation in Romania -- where homemade brew was very available (and very, 
very delicious).
Are you saying that Russians have an inherent alcoholism problem?

Joanna