[CCIP]

Or, indeed, most of the third world! It's not really a unique situation.

Even in St. Petersburg and Moscow, life ain't too sweet in the backstreets (and I say that as someone who grew up there), but it's out in the countryside and minor cities that the real tragedy is happening. Those are the places drinking themselves to death - that's why the Russian male life expectancy is so stupidly low.

Of course, as always the case historically (nothing new about it), the leaders don't care about that as long as their own business is good and as long as the state is stable. But it's been like that for centuries.