Previous studies have shown that Russian men drink relatively infrequently, but consume high amounts of alcohol per occasion (Bobak et al., 1999; Malyutina et al., 2001; Nicholson et al., 2005). These findings were confirmed by the present study, where the mean amount consumed by men per occasion was already higher than what is normally considered as constituting binge drinking. On the other hand, the present study also showed that the frequency of drinking among Russian men varied, with the respondents distributed fairly evenly between the response categories with the exception of daily drinking. A large majority of women reported drinking almost never or only on special occasions, and only a very small proportion reported drinking several times a week or every day. The mean amount of alcohol consumed per occasion was also only half of what is regarded as a level which constitutes binge drinking for women. In fact, Moscow women, on average, probably drink less than women in London or Prague (Rehm et al., 2007).

The highest proportions of binge drinkers, as well as the highest reported amounts consumed per occasion, were observed among the youngest (18–30 years).

Further, the substantially heavier consumption among young women (18–30 years) compared to the older female age groups might be indicative of an increasing level of alcohol consumption among women which has been suggested in recent studies (Stickley et al., 2007; Zaigraev, 2004).

Experiencing several kinds of economic problem was positively related to the risk of binge drinking among men. In contrast, women seemed less likely to binge drink when experiencing manifold economic problems. This difference is indicative of the existence of a fundamental gender difference in Russian drinking behaviour.

...increased levels of unemployment, as well as wage reductions, payments in-kind or even the non-payment of wages have had a demoralising effect on Russian men. The idea of masculinity in Russia has been very much related to men's status as primary breadwinners. Heavy consumption of alcohol, a form of traditional masculine behaviour that both strengthens masculine identity and which provides a temporal release from a stressful life situation, may be one result of this status loss (see Ashwin & Lytkina, 2004).

...in Russia psychological distress in the population did lead to alcohol consumption among men but not among women, even though women reported significantly more distress. They argued that the social role of women in post-Soviet societies contains expectations of being able to continue with daily life despite personal strain, which might discourage drinking among women as a response to distress.

Those with lower education tend to consume alcohol in a binge-drinking manner more often than those with high education, independently of their economic situation.

Being married or cohabiting had a strong protective effect on binge drinking among women.

There was no significant association between being married or cohabiting and binge drinking among men.

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socially integrated individuals in “wet cultures” drink more. Surprisingly, this relationship was only found among women. This might be explained by the fact that heavy drinking is a common way of male socializing in all kinds of social contexts, while for women it might only be acceptable within groups of friends, where traditional social norms discouraging women's drinking might not exist.

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In sum, gender is of primary importance for understanding the relations between economic strain, social relations, and binge drinking in contemporary Russia. Men with economic problems drink heavily; women with economic problems drink less. Married men drink as much as their non-married friends, married women substantially less. Women's drinking is concentrated in the context of friends, while men's occurs everywhere.

Gender specifies the relationships, implying that the determinants of heavy drinking in Russia must be interpreted gender-wise. Thus, the opposite associations seen between economic strain and binge drinking among men and women might partly explain the extremely large gender gap in Russian mortality statistics.

Finally, the development of drinking patterns as indicated by this study is very worrying as both women and young people of both sexes now seem to be drinking more than they did previously—which bodes ill for the future in terms of alcohol-related problems in Russia.

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