Moscow’s Drinking Problem - NYTimes.com

Moscow’s Drinking Problem - NYTimes.com: "Not only will the government be tempted to dial back its anti-drinking campaigns to preserve its liquor tax revenues, but the higher prices for legal alcohol — from about $3.50 for a half-liter bottle today to $14 — will, if experience holds true, drive Russians to drink dangerous and unregulated homebrews, as well as poisonous surrogates like eau de cologne, shoe polish and even jet fuel. Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin recently based his opposition to the tax increase on precisely these past lessons."

Yet another case where you cannot actually kill two birds with one stone. Similar is the case here in the US where local governments use traffic cameras as both a way to increase revenue and also increase public safety. Maximizing revenue wins out over public safety.