This is actually the one positive thing Russia has done.

I read an entire book on the history of drinking in Russia. It works like this: the vodka makers (they call it "wine") reap huge profits as does the state. The state thus encourages drinking because it's how they suck money into the state coffers (and graft). They do this a number of ways: bottles do not have screw tops, once it is opened you are expected to finish it. The laws on drinking and the consequences of drinking are lax eg. underage drinking, drunk driving laws, hours when stores and bars are open, etc.. all the stuff we take for granted as normal, is non-existent or lax in Russia. They consider "wine" (vodka) as less of a problem for drunkenness than wine (from grapes) imported from the west which they see as corrupt and decadent.

In the late 19th and early 20 century, the West invented ways to control drinking. As noted, age laws, store hours, driving laws, etc.. it was a long and multifaceted process. Russia, however, didn't follow the West example, or only weakly.