If you deprive an alcoholic of booze, he goes into withdrawal, becomes impatient, listless, given to angry outbursts. Might even make his hand tremble so he can’t aim a rifle properly, try fermenting garbage to get his fix of alcohol, which could cause toxic results.
Taking out the distilleries was a masterstroke.
further info and thoughts on Ukraine’s attack on Russian alcohol production.
The link below shows fire destruction of bombed sites. More than 200 comments. After that (perhaps not immediately as I dozed off) was a long discussion on the Ukraine situation with several participants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ydKVPK8Acw
The 1/2 hour video found on my cell phone spends the first 15 minutes discussing the alcohol factor in Russian troop behavior and the actions of commanders in relation to that. It was pointed out that alcohol was needed to blunt troop fear so officers could force them to go into their meat waves. Will lack of alcohol result in more mutinies by troops? In the first half of this video there was no mention of the importance of alcohol for antifreeze, and use of war machines in winter. Hopefully it will create big problems, as it is very cold riding motorcycles and bicycles in winter.
It was reported Russia met its potato production quota for this year, so it is likely adequate homebrew will be possible for some. If populations of Moscow and St. Petersburg are deprived of their alcohol fixes, how will this impact support for Putin’s war?
The alcohol situation brings to mind the effect of Russia’s alcohol culture on their visiting Nork troops. Will they be willing to follow stupid orders without the benefit of alcoholic numbness? How will alcohol affect their behavior? Is alcohol even any part of Nork life for the masses? Will Nork troops receive health giving KimChe and rice which I imagine has been a main part of their diet in N Korea? Do they even eat potatoes there? If not fed KimChe will this negatively affect their health? When serving in the Korean War my husband said every house had a barrel of KimChe fermenting outside. He learned to eat it so if taken as prisoner of war, he could escape and eat his way back to friendly lines. This whole Nork experience should be quite interesting to watch.