MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin likes to claim he has the nation back on its feet, but it's joked that it's often on its back or slumped over a bar, a fact confirmed by the latest findings on Russian drinking
Russia has always had a deeply entrenched tradition of heavy drinking, but a new study in The Lancet shows that the problem has worsened in recent years despite attempts to curb the cultural custom. And Russian men are dying prematurely because of it.