Kremlin officials resort to drinking to cope with war stress

Russian President Vladimir Putin, pictured in 2016 with Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov, is not known to abuse alcohol Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Europe

The Kremlin has doubled the wine quota for Russian officials to ease the stress of Ukraine's counteroffensive.

Sources told the exiled news website Verstka that Russian government officials have begun sipping cognac all day and attending meetings drunk and sullen.

Nestka quotes one source: “Not everyone used to start their day with a glass of vodka, but now I know a lot more people who do. For some, the glass has become a bottle.”

Besides enjoying German beer while stationed in Dresden as a Soviet spy in the 1980s, Vladimir Putin does not drink.

>Nystka's sources confirmed that he made no effort to deal with the frustration caused by the invasion of Ukraine, unlike many of his senior lieutenants.

Sources say there has been a particular increase in drunkenness among Russian government officials since March, when Ukraine spoke of a planned counteroffensive and Mr. Putin was put on the wanted list by the International Criminal Court, the sources said.

A government strategist said, that the Kremlin recently increased the quota of wine at official banquets to two bottles per person.

Stories of excessive drinking among the elite coincide with reports of a surge in purchases of vodka and antidepressants. since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last year.

Meanwhile, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko urged the public to stop drinking after at least 36 people died this month in central Russia after drinking cider. which was contaminated with methanol.

Government officials show no signs of reducing their own consumption amid claims that they are «missing or disrupting meetings, using illegal substances and attending events while intoxicated,» Nestka said.

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