According to published data for 2022, the ranking of Russian regions with the most alarming alcohol consumption is led by Sakhalin Oblast, followed by Chukotka Autonomous Oblast and Kurgan Oblast, despite President Vladimir Putin’s recent efforts to reduce consumption in the country.

These data were announced on Tuesday by a member of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, leader of the Sober Russia movement, Sultan Khamzayev.

“The largest region in terms of alcohol consumption this year is the Sakhalin Region, followed by the Chukotka Autonomous Region, then the Kurgan Region, the Republic of Buryatia, the Nenets Autonomous Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Republic of Komi, the Kirov Region, the Republic of Altai, and the Arkhangelsk Region,” he said. Khamzaev at the presentation of the national assessment of the sobriety of subjects of the Russian Federation, TASS reports.

The Moscow metropolitan region took the 18th place in the rating, and the St. Petersburg region rose from last year by one step to the 12th.

The most sober Russian regions in 2022 were Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, all three regions with Muslim-majority populations.

Khamzaev noted that this year, Dagestan rose from third to second place, and Ingushetia fell from first to third in the “sobriety” rating.

The assessment was carried out, as every year, on the basis of data on the number of deaths from alcohol poisoning, patients admitted to medical institutions with a diagnosis of alcoholism or alcohol psychosis, as well as data on the number of crimes committed by people. under the influence of alcohol.

In addition to them, the evaluation took into account such criteria as the regional volume of all sold alcohol products in liters of pure alcohol and the number of crimes related to alcohol smuggling.

Vladimir Putin wants to reduce alcohol consumption in Russia

In a meeting in August with Oleksandr Avdeev, the governor of the Volodymyr region east of Moscow, Putin warned him that “we still need to expand the promotion of a healthy lifestyle,” stressing that it was not an insignificant topic and that “the peasants drink and will drink.” in the absence of educational campaigns.

The head of the Kremlin also said that in the fight against alcoholism, it is not necessary to use prohibitions and excessive increases in excise taxes, but “the development of sports infrastructure and due attention to cultural objects.”

Putin’s comments came after he also spoke about alcohol in a meeting with another governor just days ago, lamenting the high level of consumption in mono-industry regions.

“Pay attention to this,” Putin said to the governor of the Kirov region, Oleksandr Sokolov.

Putin’s statements surprised both the respective governors and Russian political scientists for two reasons: the regions headed by Sokolov and Avdeev are not among those with a high level of alcohol addiction, and the Russian president has never spoken so much on the subject . in Russia earlier.

Why Putin was worried about alcohol consumption

One of his rare comments on this matter came in 2016 during his marathon press conference, which the Kremlin holds every year.

When asked by a journalist about the fight against counterfeit alcohol after 77 people died from consumption in Irkutsk, Putin replied that “alcoholization” is indeed a “problem” for Russia. But right away he optimistically added that, for example, in the countries of northern Europe they drink the same amount (no, this is not true).

Later, Meduza investigative journalists, citing several sources close to the Kremlin, wrote that Putin began to worry about excessive alcohol consumption in the administration after the start of the “special operation” on February 24.

Meduza’s sources believe that the situation with drunkenness among Russian senior officials and bureaucrats began to worry Putin because “discipline began to suffer”:

“Someone disappears before an important event, someone reports something vague and confusing. They are already seen by the general public.”

A month after Putin’s public comments, in meetings with two governors, the Ministry of Finance of Russia proposed to raise the minimum prices for cognac, vodka and other alcoholic beverages starting next year.

The federal project “Sober Russia” annually for ten years conducts an expert-analytical study of the consequences of alcohol consumption in each subject of the Russian Federation.

Based on the results of the study, an independent report “National assessment of the sobriety of subjects in the Russian Federation” has been prepared and presented annually since 2015.