Popular Alcoholic Beverages in Russia with Special Reference to Quality and Toxicity

Alcohol consumption in Russia is usually associated with vodka. During the anti-alcohol campaign (1985-1989), many factories producing vodka from grain or potatoes were dismantled. During the 1990s, technical alcohol (synthetic or cellulosic), finding no demand from the stagnating industry, was used for production of vodka, wine imitations, beer and other beverages. Synthetic alcohol imported from other countries was used for the same purposes. Apart from vodka, wines fortified by addition of distilled alcohol were abundantly consumed in the former Soviet Union. Especially in the period between the two anti-alcohol campaigns (1972-1985), the part taken by fortified wines was considerable. Some cheapest fortified wines were poor quality, causing deeper intoxications than vodka. However, many inexpensive wines made from grapes or fruit by fermentation with addition of distilled alcohol were acceptable quality. Technically correct production turned out to be expensive after the transition to the market economy. Many popular wines disappeared around 1990; some of their names have further been used for low quality products. However, an improvement tendency of sold beverages has been noticed approximately since the last decade.