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This book is acontribution to the discussion on Russian drinking culture. The core of the book is... more This book is acontribution to the discussion on Russian drinking culture. The core of the book is an examination of qualitative data from surveys on drinking habits. It is also a very timely book, as it engages in a debate on cultural features of Russia that frame the country's ongoing transformation process. To write a review on this book was a real challenge for me, for different reasons. Firstly, it explores an intriguing issue, both imporcant and underinvestigated in Russian sociology. Secondly, I am myself carrying out research on drinking patterns in Russia using biographical interviews so the top ic is very much in line with my own research interests. Thirdly, I felt "politically" embarrassed, as I knew that my PUSiLiuIl cuukl never be objective, lacking the distance and dispassion needed to be a noninterested observer. I also expected to read another horror-story, reinforcing the mythology of "drunken Russia" . Forcunately most of the book did not meet my expectation. With all these considerations in mind I approached the book and was pleased to find it extremely interesting and innovative. Simpura and Levin have produced rich empirical data and some illuminating analysis. It undoubtedly makes a significant contribution to the study of this exciting and problematic field. The collection is the result of one of the several joint Russian-Finnish projeccs of the last decade. A research situation where both foreign and native researchers study the same issue seems to be the most efficient for the study of the cultural patterns of everyday life. On the one hand, the view of a foreign observer is not jaded, and he can focus on practices and habits that stay unquestioned by those who look at it from inside. an the other, the relevance of ascribed meanings can be deciphered only with proper knowledge of the insider's codes. The methodology of such a research team is therefore inevitably of an ethnological character. Behind the inter-
Kirja-arvostelu: Suomi juo : suomalaisten alkoholinkäyttö ja sen muutokset 1968-2008 / Pia Mäkelä... more Kirja-arvostelu: Suomi juo : suomalaisten alkoholinkäyttö ja sen muutokset 1968-2008 / Pia Mäkelä, Heli Mustonen, Christoffer Tigerstedt (toim.). Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, 2010
Summary: Trends in alcohol research in Finland : the study of alcohol as a specific social proble... more Summary: Trends in alcohol research in Finland : the study of alcohol as a specific social problem and as a mirror of social change
Summary: Drinking among emloyees in a Russian workplace in 1995
Summary : Alcohol problems as social problems around the Baltic Sea : Also published in: Nordisk ... more Summary : Alcohol problems as social problems around the Baltic Sea : Also published in: Nordisk alkoholtidskrift 9(1992):4, 210-215
Kirja-arvostelu: A caring world. The new social policy agenda / Pariisi, 1999
This book is acontribution to the discussion on Russian drinking culture. The core of the book is... more This book is acontribution to the discussion on Russian drinking culture. The core of the book is an examination of qualitative data from surveys on drinking habits. It is also a very timely book, as it engages in a debate on cultural features of Russia that frame the country's ongoing transformation process. To write a review on this book was a real challenge for me, for different reasons. Firstly, it explores an intriguing issue, both imporcant and underinvestigated in Russian sociology. Secondly, I am myself carrying out research on drinking patterns in Russia using biographical interviews so the top ic is very much in line with my own research interests. Thirdly, I felt "politically" embarrassed, as I knew that my PUSiLiuIl cuukl never be objective, lacking the distance and dispassion needed to be a noninterested observer. I also expected to read another horror-story, reinforcing the mythology of "drunken Russia" . Forcunately most of the book did not meet my expectation. With all these considerations in mind I approached the book and was pleased to find it extremely interesting and innovative. Simpura and Levin have produced rich empirical data and some illuminating analysis. It undoubtedly makes a significant contribution to the study of this exciting and problematic field. The collection is the result of one of the several joint Russian-Finnish projeccs of the last decade. A research situation where both foreign and native researchers study the same issue seems to be the most efficient for the study of the cultural patterns of everyday life. On the one hand, the view of a foreign observer is not jaded, and he can focus on practices and habits that stay unquestioned by those who look at it from inside. an the other, the relevance of ascribed meanings can be deciphered only with proper knowledge of the insider's codes. The methodology of such a research team is therefore inevitably of an ethnological character. Behind the inter-
Kirja-arvostelu: Suomi juo : suomalaisten alkoholinkäyttö ja sen muutokset 1968-2008 / Pia Mäkelä... more Kirja-arvostelu: Suomi juo : suomalaisten alkoholinkäyttö ja sen muutokset 1968-2008 / Pia Mäkelä, Heli Mustonen, Christoffer Tigerstedt (toim.). Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, 2010
Summary: Trends in alcohol research in Finland : the study of alcohol as a specific social proble... more Summary: Trends in alcohol research in Finland : the study of alcohol as a specific social problem and as a mirror of social change
Summary: Drinking among emloyees in a Russian workplace in 1995
Summary : Alcohol problems as social problems around the Baltic Sea : Also published in: Nordisk ... more Summary : Alcohol problems as social problems around the Baltic Sea : Also published in: Nordisk alkoholtidskrift 9(1992):4, 210-215
Kirja-arvostelu: A caring world. The new social policy agenda / Pariisi, 1999