Russia & alcoholism
Certainly, Russia has a problem with alcoholism. There are several reasons for that.
One is the climate. In the winter, when days are very short, people get more depreseed. This has been proven scientifically; that's why in many parts of Alaska people sit under special lamps for an hour or so each day in the winter to prevent this kind of depression. Indeed, alcoholism is the problem primarily in the Northern regions, where winters are the longest. Nor is the problem limited to Russia alone: all Scandinavian countries have this problem to one degree or another; anyone growing up in St. Petersburg has seen the drunk Finns escaping their strict alcohol laws in hospitable Russia.
Another reason is genetic. Russian people have a predesposition to alcoholism, similar to Native Americans. Therefore, for many Russians drinking anything is dangerous, as it may quickly lead to addiction.
Economics conditions. When people live in hopelessness they are more likely to drink. Also, the alcohol problem is the most pronounced in the rural areas, where indeed
most men have a problem (and women have the problem of dealing with the drunk men). In the cities, the problems (while certainly there) is far less severe.
Having said all this, I do believe that some of those factors (such as genetics) have contributed to Oksana's problems. I do not, however, believe that Victor's and Alexei's troubles have anything to do with this.
RealtorGal, I hear what you are saying. Back about ten years ago, my cousin moved to Israel and entered military (he is now a leutenant in the marines

). I recall him saying with awe how during the Sabbath meal there would be wine bottles on the tables, and at the end of the meal they would hardly be touched

.
Finally, I just have to comment on that BBC article. Even though he it fully truthful, there are several things there that are a bit misleading. For instance, they have their the picture of Zhirinovsky advertising his vodka. It just calls Zhirinovsky a "national politician", which is true (is is a member of the Duma). What it
fails to mention is that Zhirinovsky is a National joke, kind of the laughing stock of the country. He is racist, an anti-semite (even though he is half-Jewish) and an oppostunist. There are things like that in the article.