The heaviest Russian drinkers live in the country's north and the Far East, while the least amount of drinking takes place in predominantly Muslim republics in the North Caucasus — as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the MedDaily medical news portal reported Tuesday.
The drinking rating by the “Sober Russia” group and the “Rating” communication agency compared the regions' levels of vodka and beer sales, the number of known alcoholics, alcohol-induced psychosis cases and crimes committed by intoxicated people, as well as the extent to which the legal restrictions on alcohol sales and consumption are observed, the report said.
The five regions with the lowest drinking scores were the Russian republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan in the North Caucasus region, along with Moscow and St. Petersburg, the rating agencies' report was quoted by MedDaily as saying.
The heaviest drinking was registered in the Magadan region and the Jewish autonomous region in the Far East, and the Nenets autonomous district in the northwest, the report said.
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