Alcohol policy in a Russian region: a stakeholder analysis

How successful the Russian Government’s new campaign will be in reducing alcohol consumption and harm remains to be seen. As Russia is a federation, action needs to be taken at regional as well as national level, and the results of a recent study suggest that a major obstacle to regional progress is an imbalance of power among stakeholders in alcohol issues, with the power being largely held by those opposed to any initiatives to reduce alcohol consumption.

The study, of a typical Russian region close to the Urals, identified and interviewed representatives of all the major public and private bodies with an interest in alcohol isues.The authors report two striking findings. The first was that many organizations that we might have expected to play a role in alcohol policy were almost entirely disengaged: while almost everyone recognized that there was a problem (even if they disagreed about its nature) they believed that they could do nothing about it. The second was that those who might favour restrictions on alcohol were highly fragmented and there was no evidence of a multi-sectoral coalition for health. While this fragmentation was also seen among those opposed to effective action, the alcohol producers were none the less active in trying to block any restrictions on their activities.

The authors conclude that there is a need to communicate the fact that effective action to reduce alcohol consumption is possible in Russia, and that multi-sectoral collaboration to promote health will be required to overcome the challenge posed by the existence of a powerful pro-alcohol lobby opposed to any initiatives to reduce alcohol consumption.

Artyom Gill et al. The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published March 28, 2010 http://www.eurpub.oxfordjournals.org