Russia In Coronavirus Lockdown: Soaring Vodka Sales And Improvised Ballet

Sales figures suggest that in the time of coronavirus some Russians are falling back on a traditional solace: vodka. The lockdown has also led to new interpretations of one of Russia’s great art forms.

Reuters reported April 9 that vodka sales in the last week of March had risen 31% in year-on-year terms, with whisky and beer sales also showing significant rises of 47% and 25%.

The spike in alcohol sales occurred during the first “non-working week” which began in Russia March 28, part of a package of government measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. New restrictions obliged Russians to stay home apart from in a very few exceptional cases. Most retail outlets—except grocery stores and pharmacies—were ordered to close. Bars, restaurants, and public parks were also shut.

Restrictions Extended As Coronavirus Cases In Russia Rise

President Vladimir Putin has since extended the restrictions to April 30. Figures published April 11 by the TASS news agency gave the total number of cases in Russia as 13,584—a rise of 1,667 in the preceding 24 hours. So far, 106 deaths have been reported.

The realities of being stuck indoors seem to have driven many Russians to drink. As in so many areas of economic activity in Russia, the capital seems to be leading the way.

The Kremlin-backed RT reported April 1 that alcohol sales in Moscow had soared by 148%, while adding that concerns over the possible consequences for public health, and the risk of rising rates of drunken crime, had led other regions to restrict the hours when alcohol may be purchased.

Why Are Russians Buying More Alcohol?

While many will no doubt conclude that Russians are buying more vodka to stave off the boredom of being stuck in quarantine, or to cope with the stress caused by fear of the disease, or the consequences for businesses and jobs which may follow—another explanation has been advanced.

In Russia, as in many other countries, fears over the spread of the disease have led to increased sales, and consequent shortages, of disinfectant. Valentina Matviyenko, Putin ally and speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, has been reported as saying that the Association of Alcohol Producers had assured her that vodka was being repurposed “exclusively for disinfection.”

Against A Trend Of Falling Vodka Consumption

Few will be convinced—but those who are persuaded this could be the case might also refer to recent trends in Russia. A country where vodka has for centuries provided an escape from a harsh political climate and severe winters has seen some remarkable recent changes in behaviour.

A World Health Organization study published in the fall of 2019 found that alcohol consumption in Russia had fallen by 43% between 2003 and 2016. The Moscow Times reported March 6 a fall of more than a third in the number of alcohol poisoning deaths in Russia in January 2020 compared with the same month in 2019. The paper wrote that experts attributed the falling death toll to the “unseasonably warm winter.”

Russia Brings Ballet And Opera To Global Audience In Lockdown

One of Russia’s great global exports has always been its culture, its ballet in particular. Like all of us, dancers have seen their working lives turned upside down. It’s not easy to perform in a city apartment what you might normally attempt on a much bigger stage.

That has not stopped artists from the Mikhailovsky Theater in Saint Petersburg from trying.

Their innovative creativity has been admired by ballet enthusiasts, and others, the world over.

Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater has offered more conventional interpretations of the classics to ease the hardships of quarantine. The Bolshoi has been streaming some of its productions to global audiences for whom a return to watching live performances remains a distant dream.