Grand Prince Vladimir proclaimed, "Drinking is the joy of the Russes, we cannot do without it". He himself adopted Christianity rather than Islam because it allowed the consumption of alcohol, seen as a reason for the whole country to embrace that faith in AD 900. In the year of 1386, "aqua vitae", more commonly known as vodka, was introduced in Moscow as a medical potion rather than a beverage. Alchemists dedicated extensive treatises to aqua vitae, often …showed first 75 words of 3564 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3564 total…of alcoholism that prevailed throughout Russia in the 20th century. Works Cited Herlihy, Patricia. The Alcoholic Empire: Vodka and Politics in Late Imperial Russia Oxford: University Press, 2002 Http://www.russianvodka.ru/history1.htm. The story of Vodka Jones, Anthony. Soviet Social Problems. Oxford: Westview Press, 1991 Segal, Boris M. The Drunken Society: Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the Soviet Union: New York: Hippocrene Books, 1999 White, Stephen. Russia Goes Dry: Alcohol, State and Society. Cambridge: University Press, 1996