Ukraine Image Abroad?

[jedna_brew]

tomorrow i will meet my close friend who returned from the ukraine last week - he has taken 2000 photographs, so there will be alot of discussion about ukraine.

problem of heavy drinkin is common for every nation formerly ruled by russian empire. it was the best way to keep conquered nations under control - drunken people doesn't fight to liberate themselves, they doesn't need freedom. ukrainian problem is that, they have been under this rule much longer than poles. i think you need to change culture of drinking - it was successfuly made in poland - replacing vodka with beer. create a culture of beer with dark pubs, common soccer watching, family-pubs, wher you can go with children, buy them ice cream etc. polish society doesn't accept drunken people anymore - if you are drunken at 8.00 you must completly looser, who doesn't work, an parasite.

belive, it could be done and you can do this.

wish you very good on EURO 2012 organisation. maybe problems you have faced right now will change your country for good? maybe now ukrainians see how much they need to change? i hope so.

pozdrawiam

[IreneLviv]

I cant remember alcohol being glamorized in TV etc
Does you husband remember the anti-alcohol Campaign launched in 1985 by Andropov ( officially by Gorbi)? It was this campaign (and especially 'Hi Gorbi" drink) that finally destroyed Russians..

[jedna_brew]

the limit of drinking must be found, beacuse now there is no limit in this matter in ukrainian society. everybody suffers - alcoholics, their families, and last but not least - economy. they just doesn't work as the should be...

[IreneLviv]

Yes Andropov died in 1984 but his ideas lived. Anti-alcohol campaign contributed to the final collapse of the USSR, since alcohol, together with oil and cinema., were the major sources of budget revenue. Until today, half of alcohol production is underground.
PS I cant believe your husband did not watch TV!

[IreneLviv]

How can figures be artificial? I have now checked - Alcohol accounted for 20-25% of revenues.
What do you mean by coup? August 1991? I saw these events with my own eyes, and spent the historic night near the White House.

[IreneLviv]

I was told a week before about this scenario - I did not believe it until I saw cartoons on Gorbi stuck on each corner on 18 August - the scenario was unwinding as a comedy until tanks appeared and it turned into drama. The elation among people after the coup - and especially when the Communist Party was banned - was beyond anything I ever saw before or afterwards.

[jedna_brew]

some informations from poland to compare, according 2008:

budget incomes - 253,5 mld pln
including estimate 14,8 mld pln taxes income from alcohol sales, which is 5,8% of total income.
estimate "grey zone" of illegal heavy alcohol production is 25% of total heavy alcohol production in poland (excluding beer, wine, etc).
average pole drink 95 liters of beer per year. only germans and czechs driks more beer in europe.
only sweden has higher taxes on alcohol than poland in europe

little analisys:
prices comparision in usd for similar vodka in poland, ukraine and czech republic is:

poland - 8,5 usd
czech - 5 usd
ukraine - 2 usd (!)

according to ciafactbook gdp per capita is:

poland: 17300 usd
ukraine: 6900 usd
czech: 26100 usd

production of average pole is "worth" 17300/8,5 - 2035 bottles of vodka, every czech "produce" 5220 bottles, and every ukrainian "produce" 3450 bottles of vodka per year. as you can see, czech can "produce" more vodka than ukrainians, but they simply choose beer...

source:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/UP.html