Before I went to Russia, my fellow blogger the Beer Nut wrote somewhere - was it twitter? - I can't find it anyway, something to the effect of "Just wait to you see a country totally ruled by strong drink". So when I went, I thought I'd find the place littered with scary drunks, pubs full of gangsters and an attitude to drink that would make Glasgow seem like a temperance hall. Instead I found a very civilised place - OK it was posh Moscow and St Petersburg - and no sign of drunkeness at all. The bars and pubs were filled with lovely, well dressed people sipping wine and having a very nice time in a quiet way. The only potential drunk I came across was me.OK. It was so expensive that you couldn't afford to get drunk, so worryingly these anti alcohol Johnnies have a case study that they could possibly use. But that was in bars. Drinking from the offie was cheap. Not as cheap as good old GB, but still reasonably cheap. So maybe they just get pissed at home?
In one bar, a short measure half litre of Young's Double Chocolate Stout and a half of Harp (in a McEwan's glass) was over a tenner. Why did I choose Young's? It was on offer. Why didn't I drink Russian beer? They didn't sell any - a feature of many Moscow bars.
More of Russia soon, but building works at home make internet access and somewhere to sit and do it, tricky at the moment.
Shows what I know, eh?
ReplyDeleteMy takeaway image of St Petersburg was the guy in a suit at a bus stop at 10am, briefcase in one hand, half-litre bottle of beer in the other. I don't recall seeing many people who were fall-about drunk. But everyone appeared to be drinking, all the time.
Think I`d rather stay in God`s Country and sup a pint of Flipside Russian Rouble instead..
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