The most important factor to determine a fluctuation in the death rate in population during years was the level consumption of vodka and the social stability which varied under Presidents Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Putin. The first important measure to prohibit big consumption of alcohol was adopted by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who reduced vodka production and did not allow it to be sold before lunch time. During the period of the President Yeltsin there was a huge increase in drinking and the risk of death was big.
8,000 of the 151,000 subjects died during the ten year study. The general statistic conclusion says that 25 percent of Russian men die before they are 55. To compare, the same risk in the UK is only for 7 percent. Russia introduced alcohol control measures in 2006, including raising taxes and restricting sales. In 2011 each Russian adult drank an average 13 liters of pure alcohol / year.
