I was unfortunate enough to be born on the wrong side of the iron curtain. This is what my uncle told me.
Soviet military drill to take a tank across a river. Soldiers manning the fast barge found out that the compass is full of 96% spirit. They pried it open and drank it. Then the barge crashed into port. Probably helped by every man on board being drunk. Then the tank was craned on to the barge, but the crane crew was drunk also and put the tank on a side where it 1) fell into the water 2) capsized the barge
Fellow freepers stationed in Berlin know the best, but I have heard this drill made people know Russians are not 7 feet tall (and neither are they organized).
I’ve heard horror stories about USSR too. So many of them, and USSR itself was massive in land mass - North and South.
Can also tell you that in the Bahamas, for example, the gov’t tended to hand out bottles & cases of rum to people before general elections, in the 1980s and 1990s. Not sure if it is still the case - have no reason to believe it isn’t.
In Iran, over the last 35 years, the mullahs say they imprison and execute drug dealers, yet there are so many drug addicts - one doesn’t know where to start. Alcohol is forbidden of course; BUT, Most are deliberately given & encouraged to be on drugs; mostly opium, but meth, etc.. too. Even within the regime itself, there are regular opium consumers.
In Australia, there is a clear and excessive alcohol consumption problem. To the credit of the gov’ts & over the years, they increasingly designated certain ‘family-oriented’ public places as “alcohol-free” zones - even in affluent suburbs in cities like Sydney - you can see public signs. This is something that I had never seen until last, maybe, 10 years in Australia. But gov’t had to control it, because it has been and still is a real *cultural* problem.
I can go on about Scandinavian countries & alcohol too.
If I’m not mistaken, Russia still has its highest death rate from alcohol related consumption - it seems definitely & primarily a cultural problem? Does the current federal gov’t in Russia encourage it?