Russia was always a wonderful place so long as you were too drunk to know the difference. That's why the Soviets, for all the delays and shortages, prioritized alcohol as well as food. The entire system worked, poorly but it worked, until Gorbachev decided to reduce the availability of alcohol. Out of a total coincidence, Russia experienced a fermentable crop shortage soon after, combined with the lack of tax revenue from alcohol sales, as well as Perastroyka, resulted in enough angry hangovers to end the USSR.
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Russia was always a wonderful place so long as you were too drunk to know the difference. That's why the Soviets, for all the delays and shortages, prioritized alcohol as well as food. The entire system worked, poorly but it worked, until Gorbachev decided to reduce the availability of alcohol. Out of a total coincidence, Russia experienced a fermentable crop shortage soon after, combined with the lack of tax revenue from alcohol sales, as well as Perastroyka, resulted in enough angry hangovers to end the USSR.