@thor In Russia it's not a matter of taxes. Although the taxes are pretty high, the government somehow made people think that if they don't do the papers themselves, it's some evil capitalist who pays those taxes — not them, who get paid less for their job and pays more for goods. Doesn't matter. A lot of people are piss-poor, so no one minds saving on alcohol.
Another factor is soviet-era tradition of home distilling from the times when Gorbachev banned alcohol.
@markusl