Russian stores ran out of vodka celebrating the end of World War II.

  • Victory Day in Russia, 1945
Victory Day in Russia, 1945
Credit: Archive Collection/ Alamy Stock Photo
Author Michael Nordine

November 20, 2025

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“Vodka is our enemy,” an old Russian proverb begins, “so we’ll utterly consume it.” That was never truer than at the end of World War II, when the country celebrated its hard-fought victory to such an extent that it reportedly ran out of its favorite spirit. It didn’t take long, either: By the time Joseph Stalin delivered his victory address 22 hours after a massive nationwide party began, the vodka reserves had already been depleted in some stores. 

“We drank for the victory, for those who did not live to see this day and for the fact that this bloody massacre would never be repeated,” a naval navigator named Nikolai Kryuchkov reportedly recalled. “On May 10, it was impossible to buy vodka in Moscow, because it was completely drunk.”

Like most supplies, vodka was scarce by the end of the war. The Soviet Union suffered the heaviest losses of any country in the world, stretching resources dangerously thin as soldiers and civilians alike struggled to endure. Soldiers received the “commissar’s ration” of 100 grams of vodka per day and production of the spirit never stopped, but it was in short supply.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

Vodka was used as currency in 1990s Russia.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union wasn’t exactly a smooth process. Hyperinflation soared as the economy contracted by nearly 50%, resulting in the once-mighty ruble becoming nearly worthless. Many Russians began exchanging American dollars, German marks, and British pounds for goods and services, a practice that was banned in 1993. As a result, a kind of barter system emerged in which one of the country’s most reliable goods became a new currency: vodka. “A repairman will yawn if you offer 20 rubles to get the car fixed or a ceiling plugged,” a 1991 Baltimore Sun article explained about the “liquid currency.” “But if you offer a bottle of vodka, the job gets done.” The practice waned as the economy slowly stabilized in the 21st century.

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