Russia Seeks to Kill Alcohol Industry

I could write something about how it's wrong for the government to try to run an entire industry out of business just because the business's customers have no sense of responsibility ... but why do that when I can just point out how hilarious the photo is that accompanied this article?

Russia Says Farewell to Cheap Vodka
In the latest step in President Dmitry Medvedev’s mission to curb Russian alcohol abuse, a Russian government commission ordered a minimum price to be set for vodka.

A draft bill approved by the commission has the potential to raise the price of the cheapest vodka by more than 50 percent, according to reports. The minimum price for a half liter bottle of vodka is to be set at 89 roubles ($3.10). Read the full story here ...

Drunken Forklift Operator Destroys $150,000 Worth of Booze

Now this is just sad ... and hilarious at the same time. What a waste of perfectly good booze - and all because one guy couldn't handle his own ... Tragic.

Drunken Moscow Man Destroys $150,000 Worth of Booze

Think you had a bad day at work? One Moscow man is surely out of a job after he destroyed nearly $150,000 worth of vodka and cognac in a drunken forklift crash.

Read more ...

A Bottle of Vodka for a Mere $1.3 Million

Do you think you could drink a million dollars worth of vodka? In Russia, you could – and all the vodka would fit inside one bottle. Of course, you’d still have to pay for it.

A single bottle of Russo-Baltique Vodka, which was reportedly created to impress Russian royalty and various wealthy folks, sold last year with a price tag of $1.3 million U.S. dollars (or 1 million Euros).

While not the first bottle of booze to be marketed at such an outrageously high price, the Russo-Baltique bottle is apparently the first alcoholic beverage to be sold purely for the sake of its expensiveness. Previous high-priced alcohol bottles have been sold for the benefit of charities. But not this one.

Named for the Russian combat car-maker Russo Baltique, the vodka is contained in a bottle meant to resemble the headlights on the front of car – undoubtedly a very expensive car. Princess Regina Abdurazakova of Khazakhstan reportedly had a hand in the design. The very first bottle sold in late 2008 to Prince Albert of Monaco.
Three of the bottles of the stuff are also included in the newly manufactured Dartz Kombat T98 – a Russian-made armored vehicle that runs for a mere $1.5 million (or 1 million Euros.

Is it vodka worth the price? I’ll leave that up to you to decide.