Na Zdorove

1991

13 minutes - English

Alcohol is a staple of Russian get-togethers. Friends meet to eat, chat and drink bottles of vodka and other liquors. When stumbling drunks spill out onto the street, the authorities place them in Soviet-run 'sobering stations' - the equivalent of the American drunk tank.
Every year, 40,000 people are sent to hospital for alcohol-related emergencies. Heavy drinking is widespread, even though the government stringently controls liquor production. Those caught drunk by the police several times are ordered by law to spend time in detention facilities for alcoholics. Their recovery rates are miniscule.
60 Minutes visited Moscow to see how the authorities hide public drunkenness. Our team visited 'sobering stations' and detention facilities to see why alcohol dependence makes you a delinquent in Russian society.