The Russian government will soon raise the minimum price of vodka – half a litre is expected to cost roughly AU$4.60, up 15-20 cents from last year.
A similar volume of budget vodka in Australia retails for around $20.
Alexei Sazanov, head of the tax department at the Russian Finance Ministry, told reporters the new minimum will stay under 219 Rubles.
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Dozens of Russians have been killed in recent years after drinking illegally distilled alcohol, or substitutes branded as household chemicals.
In December, 71 people were killed in Siberia after drinking bath oil laced with methylated spirits.
Such products often contain lethal levels of methanol, a highly toxic substitute for ethanol.
In 2015, the Russian government cut the minimum price of Vodka to 185 Rubles in an effort to reduce the consumption of substitutes and illegally distilled spirits.
It was increased to 190 Rubels in 2016.
According to World Health Organisation statistics, Russians have one of the world’s highest alcohol consumption rates, consuming over 15 litres of pure alcohol annually, compared to 12 litres consumed by Australians.
Vladimir Putin toasts with vodka during the reception for graduates of military academies and universtities at the Grand Kremlin Palace in June 2016. Source: (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
The government started setting a minimum price in 2010 as part of an anti-alcoholism campaign, which almost doubled the price of vodka.
While Australians have far higher household incomes and consume less alcohol than Russians, we still spend roughly 2.6 per cent of income on alcohol, compared Russians spending 1.7 per cent.
