Word: samogon
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...national spirit, from $1.69 to $3. The move, part of President Dmitri Medvedev's anti-alcoholism campaign, is designed to curb Russians' excessive drinking. With a per capita alcohol consumption twice as high as that of the U.S. and an active underground market for homemade alcohol (known as samogon), Russians aren't about to give up their vodka so easily. The 2010 price hikes are just the latest battle in Russia's centuries-long war against the demon drink. (Read "Russia's Artisanal Moonshine Boom...
...Union. Although personally fond of vodka, Boris Yeltsin abolished the state monopoly and instituted laws to keep drinking in check. He outlawed sidewalk liquor kiosks - prompting merchants to build tiny phone booth-size stores instead. He also raised the price of vodka, which only encouraged the black market for samogon...
...artisanal samogon that are all the rage today (one magazine had recipes for samogon including everything from sultanas to rice to dill) emerged from that period. And while it has become fashionable to make samogon, it is still illegal to sell homebrew - though many people do it for a little bit of extra income...
Good quality samogon, however, is unlikely to do anything for Russia's epidemic of alcoholism. Says Poluetkov, "If people want to drink window cleaner and aftershave, and sniff glue, nothing will stop them. Because window cleaner, aftershave and glue will always be on sale. An addiction is a psychological problem, not just a financial...
...bottle of vodka is expensive, and they will drink something else, what I don't know." According to Drobiz 45% of the vodka on sale is contraband and retails below 50 rubles ($1.50) for half a liter. "I hope that for their sake villages will resort to making samogon, because at least people will know what they are drinking...