Russians Started Drinking More Vodka Due To Belt-tightening
- 15.04.2026, 15:18
New data has come to light.
Russians have started switching to vodka amid a sharp rise in the price of beer, wine and other strong alcohol. In March, sales of the alcoholic beverage rose by 4.95% year-on-year to 5.83 million decaliters (dal), while for the entire first quarter they increased by 2% to 17.39 million dal. By comparison, total sales of all types of alcohol in Russia excluding beer, cider, poiret and mead in January-March increased by 0.2% year-on-year to 47.97 million dal. This follows from the data of Rosalkogoltabakkontrol (RATK), cited by "Kommersant".
At the same time, the volume of sales of still wine in January-March 2026 lost 3% and amounted to 12.59 million dal, while low-alcohol products sagged by 58.3% to 204.9 thousand dal. In the situation of declining purchasing power, consumers are refusing weak alcohol and bet on the degree, not the volume, says the head of the Center for the development of national alcohol policy Pavel Shapkin. President of the Alcopro guild Andrey Moskovsky added that demand for vodka is also growing due to the rise in the price of whiskey, brandy and cognac.
Since January this year, the excise tax on alcohol stronger than 18% has increased by 11.4% - to 824 rubles per 1 liter of alcohol. The minimum retail price for vodka was raised by 17.1% - up to 409 rubles per 0.5 liter bottle. However, other strong drinks rose in price more strongly: the minimum price for brandy increased by 28% - up to 605 rubles, and for cognac and whiskey aged at least three years - up to 755 rubles per 0.5 liter. Because of this, a bottle of Russian whiskey began to cost 800-1000 rubles, while the same volume of vodka will cost 450-500 rubles, says Moskovsky. As a result, he said, vodka has become "banally the cheapest strong drink."
Russians went into austerity mode last year due to the sharp slowdown in the economy and began to cut spending on food, medicine, as well as clothes and shoes. According to a survey by the Platform Center and OnIn, the majority of Russians (82%) are worried about the economic situation in the country and expect prices for food and housing and utilities to rise faster than their incomes in the coming year.