It turned out that war and alcohol are interrelated. Why? Because war – is an incredible emotional stress, overexpenditure of nerve cells, which are not renewable. But we can redirect our emotions and unload consciousness. All psycho-active agents will be helpful here. Alcohol is the simplest, most available and harmless of all. If we can say “harmless” about a substance, which blurs your mind. But momentary, for a short time, when no one wants to look far, it is an idea – to put away a lot of booze.

A very good example: in childhood I’ve heard many times in war movies the same phrase – “100 grams narkomovskih”. Our soviet motherland told us many false stories about a “feat of a victorious nation”. There were no stories except WAR and VICTORY, of course. That government had problems with manufacturing of sausages, toilet paper and cloth, but we had our VICTORY. As my grandfather told me, alcohol became a strategic finding at some point of time. It was a moment when it became clear that soviet propaganda was as qualified as the Red Army. The Army was much worse than the Propaganda was telling about it. When an average soldier of the Red Army realized in 1941 that there would be no war on enemy’s territory, that there were no glorified power and “Stalin’s falcons” didn’t fly any more – this idea became massive … that is how “100 gram narkomovskih” came to life.

It helped then. But what’s now? Now the situation is different. Now volunteers via social networks ask each other not to take “buhlo” (alcohol) to military bases. It is hard time for soldiers, we know, but it is too easy to “take a shot and forget everything”.

But there are other participants – civilians. They can drink and sometimes it helps. It helped me too, it was working for a half of summer in 2014. Some situations were anecdotic. Together with my wife we were in the yard drinking beer, our son was bathing in the pool, absolutely happy and nearby – a cannonade from the side of Makarovo. It happened in Stanitsa, it didn’t hit us. But it did eventually. We realized a seriousness of the situation — no drinks could help us relax. In some time we realized that the best think which can happen if we will stay and try to wait – we will get an alcoholic mania or cirrhosis …

But I have a friend, who hasn’t leave the territory, but he gave up drinking a long before the situation. Suddenly he realized that alcohol hampers his life. And he decided never to drink again. He didn’t change his mind even after a life under shelling, after fights with “local militants” with very typical for the Donbass Kostroma accent and even more typical reek of alcohol. That’s it – “our people” don’t drink at war, only “others” drink. He overcomes a stress without alcohol. I have no idea how he does it.

Another friend cannot drink because doctors prohibited – so, he suffers now, doesn’t know how to live. It is hard without a doping at war even for a civilian. You’ll make it, don’t worry – people manage to live even among “separatists” without alcohol. So, now my answer is “yes” to a question if there is a life after a “give up”.

Georgiy Sushenko (Luhansk — Stanitsa Luhanskaya — Kiev) for the Informator.lg.ua