Alcohol Abuse in Russia

Interested in learning about factors that influence alcohol abuse in Russia? Listen to find out more about gender and societal norms that create a problematic alcohol culture in Russia and who is facing the highest risk from alcohol use. 

Click show detail for a full episode transcript 

Hannah [00:00:12] Alcoholism and alcohol abuse do not just arise out of our biology. They also arise out of the influence of our environments. The societies that we live in can create harmful norms around drinking, exacerbating illnesses and causing premature death. Russia is an example of this. A harmful drinking culture has been created by societal and gender norms in Russia. We will discuss several reasons this is the case. But first some important definitions and background information. When a person consumes four to five drinks in one hour it is considered binge drinking. A Russian term, Zapoi is a period of at least two days in which a person is continuously drunk and is unable to function normally. Behavior like this is generally accepted in Russia. Sometimes people drink things like glass cleaner, mouthwash, everyday items that contain alcohol but are not meant for drinking. When someone consumes these for the purposes of getting drunk these products are referred to as surrogates. It is common in Russia for people who are suffering from alcohol use disorders to drink surrogates. Russia is an industrialized nation. One thing that is common for industrialized nations is to have a higher average life expectancy, but not in Russia. For Russian men the average life expectancy is sixty five years old and for women it is 76 years old. In the United States the average life expectancy for men is seventy six years old and eighty one years old for women. You might be surprised by the difference in life expectancy between Russian men and women. You might be asking why is this what made this difference? Well alcohol consumption has a lot to do with it. Russian men on average drink a lot more than Russian women and in many cases it leads to higher negative health outcomes and sometimes premature death. But why is this risk so much higher for Russian men than women? Russian gender norms, expected and acceptable behaviors and attitudes based on gender. Research suggests, that in Russia it is more socially acceptable for men to drink much more than women. Men are usually seen as the breadwinner, the provider. This can become a large source of identity and self-esteem for Russian men. It is seen as more masculine to not ask for help with issues around drinking. It is seen as masculine to use alcohol as a way to cope with problems such as job loss. For Russian women it is expected and more accepted to drink less, care for their husbands, and cope with their problems in other ways besides drinking. To learn more about this issue I interviewed Dr. In Natalya Shelkova, a professor of economics, here at Guilford College. Natalya had this to say,

Natalya [00:03:37] I think it's my personal belief, but it's also statistically true that women have more responsibilities. So, the women are generally expected to hold a job and to do most of the household work, cooking, and cleaning, and educating children and so on. I mean there are men who are doing and helping and sharing responsibilities, but statistically it's mostly women and I think women is because they're concerned about survival of the children and well-being of the children they have to be, they have to stay more focused and they're less likely to drink.

Hannah [00:04:23] Another gender norm that helps create this problem is the compliance of wives of heavy drinkers. Research suggests, that it is most socially acceptable and expected for the wives of men who are experiencing alcohol issues to allow their husbands to continue drinking. Many women end up caring for their husbands when they are experiencing health impacts from alcohol. Wives might try to convince their husbands to stay home and drink with them instead of going out, so that the drinking is potentially more controlled. If a wife is more dependent on her husband for money and labor around the house she may not be able to divorce him because of his behavior.

Natalya [00:05:07] And because of the dependence on males for household needs they just didn't have a lot of choices. You know, when the male partners were in short supply for a long time. So, I think that's partly also led to this compliance.

Hannah [00:05:41] Lastly let's look at workplace culture. Young Russian, blue collar, men face the highest risk of premature death caused by alcohol consumption. Why is this? It is very common for young men to drink together with their co-workers. It is a very important part of socializing not only to drink, but to get very drunk.

Natalya [00:06:05] It's a cultural thing, but I don't think it's purely Russian. I think it is maybe less so in the US, but I see that happen here as well. Maybe they were drinking beer and watch sports on TV, not necessarily in a group of other men, but it might still happen.

Hannah [00:06:22] This exposure to drinking can be the beginning of a harmful pattern for young men.

Natalya [00:06:28] But I also think it's a lack of growth that the job has. Career growth. I mean there is no career, basically. So a lack of self fulfillment. As well as the difficulties of the physical aspect of the job. I think that's probably the two most important factors.

Hannah [00:07:06] After the fall of the Soviet Union, in 1991, things became a lot less certain and steady for Russian people. Many parts of the economy were starting to privatise fast. Many people lost their jobs, there were wage delays, there was a lot of uncertainty moving into the future. Some men would use drinking to cope with job loss. When they got another job drinking could sometimes interfere, which would lead to job loss again, and then to more drinking. So a pattern is established.

Natalya [00:07:41] So there was a big loss of jobs, which was even more then not during the Great Depression. It was very devastating. So it was alcohol and drug addiction.

Natalya [00:08:00] So there have been since 2000, I think that's partly linked to improvement in job prospects and improvement in standard of living. And general sense of greater security and economic security. There had been a general decline in alcohol consumption.

Hannah [00:08:22] For some men when they lost their jobs and did not have enough money to buy vodka they would buy surrogates instead because it was cheaper. Some men would go on longer periods of Zapoi. Begin to spend more time with other heavy drinkers and become socially isolated from friends and family. This would begin to lead to health complications from alcohol consumption, heavy dependence on alcohol, and potentially premature death. Although the global prevalence of alcohol abuse is highest in Russia, at the time of this recording, not all cases result in death. Many people continue to live with the disease.

Natalya [00:09:12] But also I think it's a little bit of lack of opportunities for self-expression from men. And maybe lack of meaning in life. And lack of sense of responsibility for the family and. Children which I think is partly historical.

Hannah [00:09:41] Drinking problems exist all around the world. Adding to the burden of health worsening illnesses causing injuries causing deaths. This cannot be addressed with policy change alone. These harmful norms need to change to. This podcast was produced by Hannah Kaplan for the spring 2019 global health class at Guilford College.