Russia: A quiet revolution is taking place in Russia - beer has surpassed vodka as the favorite alcoholic beverage. According to a recent survey conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 47 % of Russians have drunk beer in the past year, compared to only 33 percent for vodka, Russian Brewers Association revealed on December 7.

The gap is even wider among Russian youth: Among respondents aged 18 to 24, a whopping 75 percent identified themselves as beer drinkers, while only 21 percent said the same about vodka. Signs of the revolution are everywhere. Whether they"re riding to work on the metro at 7 a.m. or socializing in one of Moscow"s trendy microbreweries, Russians are increasingly enjoying the pleasures of beer.

It"s a stark difference from the Soviet era, when only a handful of low-quality brews catered to the tastes of the Russian population. "Fifteen years ago we had a joke in this country," said Vladimir Kuznetsov, a spokesman for the Russian Brewers" Union. "We used to say that there were two kinds of beer: "There is beer" and "There is no beer"."

Now, virtually every brand of mass-produced beer that is available elsewhere in the world can be found in Russia, and the beer market has reached $6 billion in annual turnover. According to Viktor Tskhovrebov, a consumer market analyst at Renaissance Capital, the beer boom started right after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Tskhovrebov believes that two main factors stand behind the surging popularity of beer: "Above all," he said, "Its easy availability and a lot of advertising."

The abundance of beer on Moscow streets can be shocking to Western visitors. Kiosks sell beer at almost every corner, along with soft drinks and mineral water, and for about the same -prices. There are no legal barriers to selling beer - even to teenagers. The result is that Russian beer-drinkers have few inhibitions about swigging their favorite brew as they walk down the street. So, while Russians still consume less beer per capita than Westerners (an annual 51 liters per person, compared to 120 liters for Germans and 100 liters for Britons), the culture of beer-drinking is far more visible than in Western countries, where most drinking takes place in bars and pubs. According to the Russian Brewers" Union, only 9 percent of the beer consumed in Russia is drunk in bars. The majority is consumed on the street.

Like any revolution, the beer boom in Russia has supporters and detractors. Viktor Yerofeyev is a supporter. The controversial author, who has written extensively about Russia"s culture of vodka drinking, believes that beer is a more appropriate beverage for a "normal" country.

"Like Leo Tolstoy, I think it"s better to drink beer than to drink vodka," Yerofeyev said. "Drinking beer is an instrument of socializing, rather than an instrument of escapism."

Not surprisingly, the strongest defenders of beer can be found in the brewing industry. Brewers say that the growing popularity of beer is a healthy trend for Russia, because beer has less alcohol than vodka. "Society is fulfilling a need to replace strong alcoholic beverages with weaker ones, which is wise from the perspective of minimizing health risks," said Irina Kibina, a spokeswoman for beer maker SUN Interbrew.

Health officials find this logic unconvincing. Many of them point to a disturbing rise in teenage alcoholism, which they blame on the enormous popularity of beer among Russian youth. According to the Health Ministry, the number of 14 to 18-year-olds being treated for alcoholism surged by 26.6 percent between 2001 and 2002.

Moreover, it is unclear that beer is actually supplanting vodka. Patricia Herlihy, a professor at Brown University, in Pro-vidence, Rhode Island, who has studied the history of Russian drinking habits, points out that vodka production has grown even while beer has grown more fashionable. "Someone is drinking all that vodka too," said Herlihy. "I do not believe it is a question of beer vs. vodka. I believe the situation is more like beer plus vodka."

For politicians, health officials and other campaigners against alcoholism, there is a clear enemy that needs to be stopped: the Russian beer industry, which has pursued a massive marketing campaign to promote its brands. Before September, when a restrictive new law came into force, beer commercials accounted for one-tenth of the television advertising market. According to the law"s supporters, beer commercials targeted teenagers by presenting beer as part of a glamorous, sexy lifestyle. Even Yerofeyev felt uncomfortable with the onslaught of pro-beer propaganda.

"The fact that young people are sitting around in bars and cafes drinking beer is a very positive change, maybe even a revolutionary change for Russia," said Yerofeyev. "At the same time, Russians have a tendency to take things too far. I don"t want Russia to turn into a beer keg, which many beer companies seem determined to bring about."

The new advertising law, which severely curtailed beer commercials on television, was the first step in a mounting political backlash. Next came a proposal to limit one of the most cherished rights of the Russian beer-drinker: the right to imbibe on the streets. According to the proposed law, the police would be able to issue a fine of 100 rubles (about $3) to anyone caught drinking beer in a public place. As Russia Profile went to press, the law had been approved by the State Duma, but had been rejected by the Federation Council, meaning that the two houses would have to reach a compromise.

Supporters of the legislation believe it will help combat teenage alcoholism. Even the Russian Orthodox Church has weighed in on the question. "When 12- to 14-year-old girls are drinking beer, this is not our style," Patriarch Alexy II said at a conference in October. "This is a style that was artificially imposed on us and that continues to be promoted, unfortunately, in the media. I have known so-called "beer alcoholics," and I have to say that they were real alcoholics."

But many Russians believe that government efforts to limit beer consumption will end in vain. In particular, the effort to ban public beer drinking has met with a skeptical reaction. Tskhovrebov of Renaissance Capital believes it will be impossible to stop public beer drinking until Russia has a widespread network of affordable pubs. "It"s a stupid law," he said. "The police have enough to do already. And now they expect them to chase after every teenager with a beer in his hand?"

Historically, attempts at prohibition have been remarkably unsuccessful in Russia. In 1914 the tsarist government banned the sale and production of vodka. Although the ban led to a decrease in drunkenness, it also spurred a renaissance in the making of moonshine, and it helped bankrupt the state by depriving it of lucrative vodka revenues. In 1985 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev launched a deeply unpopular anti-alcohol campaign that tarnished the image of his other reforms. In a joke at the time, a man standing in line for vodka becomes fed up and goes to the Kremlin to shoot Gorbachev. But minutes later he returns - because the line to shoot Gorbachev was even longer.

Moreover, it is common knowledge what happened to the tsarist government in 1917 and to Gorbachev"s government in 1991. So why is the current Russian government (led by a sober president) heading in the same, some would suggest politically suicidal, direction?

Herlihy of Brown University believes that, while a genuine concern for public health is one motivation, there could be a more sinister factor behind the anti-beer legislation. The vodka industry has traditionally been very close to the state. "If you believe in conspiracies, the government might want to cut down on foreign beer profits and raise Russian vodka profits," said Herlihy. "Ever since [former President Boris] Yeltsin destroyed the vodka monopoly, [President Vladimir] Putin has been trying to get more control of the industry and of its revenue."

Most Russians have mixed feelings about the anti-beer legislation. One of them is Ilya, a 27-year-old engineer drinking a bottle of Stary Melnik beer on Arbat Street in Moscow.

"To some degree, it"s right," said Ilya, who chose not to give his last name. "We have very aggressive ads which target young people. When school kids drink beer, that"s a big problem... But at the same time, it"s pleasant to go to a nice park with benches and to sit down and drink beer, especially in the summer."

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