A new government report has revealed Russia's far-eastern region of Magadan to be the “most drunken” part of the country.
The region, which regularly sees temperatures drop below minus 25 degrees Celsius in winter, was followed by the far-eastern Chukotka autonomous region and the northern Komi republic.
By contrast, the Muslim-majority republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan ranked as the country's “most sober” in a survey of 85 Russian regions.
The government's “Sober Russia” project and Russia's Public Chamber Expert-Analytical Center released their “national sobriety ratings” on Wednesday in a bid to improve state programs combatting alcoholism.
Areas were ranked in a point system based upon criteria such as alcohol sales, the number of hospital patients with alcoholism, the death rate from alcohol poisoning, and the number of crimes committed by those in a state of intoxication.
Official figures estimate that 3 million people in Russia are currently receiving treatment for alcoholism, although many believe the real number of alcoholics to be much higher.
Russians on average consumed 15.76 liters of pure ethyl alcohol per capita in 2014, according to data from the World Health Organization. Annual intake of about eight liters is currently considered harmful.
