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Russian Drunkenness: The Long Road to Societal Collapse
A history of a societal dependence
Russia has fascinated me as a state for a long time. It’s been a pariah on the world stage for more than a hundred years now, and it’s safe to say that few countries have had such a dramatic effect on the world in the 20th century as Russia. Is Russia a European state? Can democracy thrive in Russia? Why does totalitarianism seem to flourish so easily there? These are questions without clear answers, and ones agonised over by Russians for generations. One facet not often considered, however, is the generational trauma and resulting systemic alcoholism present in Russia.
The Ghost of World War 2
The above population graph from 2015 paints a stark picture. Russia’s population is in shambles. A ‘healthy’ population pyramid should have a wide base, tapering toward the top. In other words, a lot of young people and fewer older people. Few countries conform to this model though, and some natural bulging towards the middle is expected as populations stop growing rapidly.
The wedges in Russia’s pyramid at 15, 45 and 75 tell a different story, one that actually begins in World War 2. Russia lost approximately 27,000,000 million people in the conflict, more than the total number of deaths on all sides of World War 1. This devastating loss of life…
