Russians have a history of drinking vodka, so it's completely normal for them to continue the tradition. Russians also drink vodka because it's healthy alcohol. They believe in the curative and preventive powers of vodka.
Experts suggest that its use was common in Russia because it was an effective remedy against the cold weather. Curiously, the first to develop this distillate were monks, thanks to them, farmers of the eighteenth century began to drink vodka and its use began to grow in Russia.
In Russia, vodka is traditionally drunk neat and not in cocktails.
It is the symbol of Russian pride, a drink that is consumed by true Russian men at the dinner table, and a sign of their national identity.
Alcoholism has been a problem throughout the country's history because drinking is a pervasive, socially acceptable behaviour in Russian society and alcohol has also been a major source of government revenue for centuries. It has repeatedly been targeted as a major national problem, with mixed results.
Looking at the amount of alcohol consumed per person aged 15 years or older, the Seychelles is in first place with around 20.5 litres of alcohol drunk per person per year, according to Our World in Data; studies show that young male peer groups primarily drink high amounts of alcohol in the Seychelles.
It was introduced at the beginning of World War I with a belief that it would prevent the army from dealing with drunken soldiers. Other warring countries (e.g. the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) imposed certain restrictions on alcoholic drinks, but only Russia completely stopped the retail sale of vodka.
Drink It Pure
Though vodka cocktails and mixers are popular, Russians prefer drinking vodka in small shots. Most Russians don't mix their vodka with anything, not with juices, sodas, or even energy drinks. According to Russians, vodka is meant to be served pure and chilled.
Tsar Nicholas II banned vodka sales in 1914 for the duration of World War I. Believing that sobriety would result in an orderly recruitment process for the army and eliminate the drunkenness damaging public health, he failed to anticipate the negative unintentional consequences that ensued.
The Russian equivalent for Cheers! is За здоровье! [za zda-ró-vye]. Literally it means: "To your health!".
In the early days of distillation, Russians used local herbs to flavor the vodka and mitigate unpalatable flavors. Black peppercorns and dill weed were the most popular additions. Legend goes that black pepper flavored vodka was the 17th century emperor Peter the Great's drink of choice.
Vodka is meant to be gulped down in one go, not sipped. Since this can give you a bit of a kick, Russians always have some zakuski, or snacks (including pickles, herring, boiled potatoes, and black bread) to chase the shot.
Vodka is native to Russia, even though there are lots of countries on Earth that make vodka, so it should come as no surprise that Russia consumes more vodka than any other country on Earth.
Vodka might be Russia's most popular cultural export. It's where the spirit is believed by many to have originated, and is certainly most associated with that country today; the word itself is a diminutive of “water” in Russian.
Vodka (Polish: wódka [ˈvutka], Russian: водка [ˈvotkə], Swedish: vodka [vɔdkɑː]) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage.
Lead researcher Sir Richard Peto of Oxford University said the average Russian adult drinks 20 liters of vodka per year while the average Briton drinks about three liters of spirits.
The country of Sweden and the village of Åhus are the home of Absolut Vodka. But there is another place of which vodka knows its way around: Russia.
Grey Goose is a brand of vodka produced in France. It was created in the 1990s by American businessman Sidney Frank, who sold it to the multinational company Bacardi in 2004. The Maître de Chai for Grey Goose is François Thibault, who developed the original recipe for the vodka in Cognac, France.
There is perhaps no religion that loves alcohol as much as the Japanese Shinto religion, which reveres sake as the most sacred of drinks—the “liquor of the gods.” The god of sake is also the god of rice and the harvest, so drinking sake is associated with a bountiful and blessed harvest.