The Anonymous Widower

Russia’s Biggest Problem

A few years ago, I read a book called PeopleQuake, which talked about how some countries like Russia have a birthrate that is not enough to sustain the population. Apparently, in Russia, the women didn’t want to have children, as the men might not be there to be a good father.

This article illustrates the problem with Russian men and their drinking and other bad habits. Here’s the first paragraph.

The high number of early deaths in Russia is mainly due to people drinking too much alcohol, particularly vodka, research suggests.

PeopleQuake reckoned that putting the drunk; Boris Yeltsin in charge, was the real problem, as he reversed all of the previous reforms, that were aimed at cutting down on cheap vodka.

The BBC article says this.

In 1985, the then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev drastically cut vodka production and did not allow it to be sold before lunch-time.

Researchers say alcohol consumption fell by around a quarter when the restrictions came in, and so did overall death rates. Then, when communism collapsed, people started drinking more again and the death rates also rose.

So what is Putin doing about improving Russian society? Spending billions on the Sochi games and clamping down on those, who don’t fit the Russian stereotype!

You could also argue, that he doesn’t have a good grasp of foreign policy!

February 1, 2014 - Posted by AnonW | Health, News | Drink, Russia, Vladimir Putin