Vodka politics Alcohol, autocracy, and the secret history of the Russian state

This study examines the role of vodka in the Russian and Soviet political, cultural, and historical context. Schrad (Villanova Univ.) examines the devastating impact of this liquid on the country's people, morale, and politics since Imperial Russia through the Soviet Union and up to the present. Schrad shows how vodka was mixed with politics during various major periods in the transformation of this largest country in the world. The book is based on a respectable and reliable list of sources and is well written. The writing is accessible to professionals and those who may have just have begun to learn about the culture, history, and politics in imperial Russia, the Soviet Union, and the modern Russian state. Schrad also tackles the question of whether alcohol brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union. Finally, Schrad offers his well-prepared, impressive assessment of Putin's approach to the alcohol issue in modern Russia. This volume will be of significant value to everybody who is interested in Russian and Soviet studies, particularly scholars, advanced students, and general readers. --Yury Polsky, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

In this extensive but accessible account, political scientist Schrad (The Political Power of Bad Ideas) argues that throughout history the Russian (and Soviet) autocracy has been intrinsically-and often tragically-linked to vodka. Since the 16th century, when Russia's grand princes and tsars monopolized this highly profitable trade, vodka became "the keystone of Russian state finance," as well as a powerful tool for controlling not only the country's peasants and workers, but members of political inner circles. Both Ivan the Terrible and Josef Stalin forced underlings to constant drunkenness to keep them off balance and ferret out potential plots or dissent. The Russian autocracy's reliance on vodka was so ingrained that attempts at prohibition and increased regulation generally backfired: the last imperial tsar, Nicholas II, lost popularity and bankrupted his country when he attempted to ban the sale of alcohol during WWI, which eventually helped catalyze the Russian Revolution. In the post-Soviet era, the Russian Federation's own reliance on vodka has overseen a demographic disaster, in which rampant alcoholism has sunk Russian life expectancy to the lowest in Europe. As Schrad puts it, "the single greatest obstacle to a normal, healthy, and wealthy Russia" is the predominance of "the state's own vodka politics." B&w illus. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Schrad (political science, Villanova Univ.) looks at the historical and economic influence of Russian "vodka politics," the idea that every major political and economic decision in the history of Russia, going back to the tsars, has derived from the autocratic state's use of access to vodka as a means to control its populace and maintain its strength. The author claims that Russian dependence on the drink is not a naturally occurring condition of its people but rather comes from government economic and cultural manipulation. Historically, the tsars and other nobility provided (or in some cases banned) vodka as a means of regulating the people, with consumption eventually crossing social and cultural strata to become endemic. The burden of blame, says Schrad, rests with Russian governments, regardless of ideology, that managed vodka sales as the key to a sound government. He concludes that the only hope for Russian sobriety involves steady and strategic educational, health, and social change. VERDICT The economic and political discussions regarding vodka policies and revenue are well crafted; others (the tsarist and early historical discussions) are less focused. Overall, Schrad's strong research and analysis of economic policies and their social impact carry his argument. Social and economics historians or activists seeking to understand or tackle the ongoing Russian dependence upon vodka will find this work compelling.-Elizabeth Zeitz, Otterbein Univ. Lib., Westerville, OH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.