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The number of Russians drinking alcohol has no  changed significantly over the past 13 years, and the number of those drinking alcohol every week has grown, especially in small towns and among young people, a poll conducted by the VTsIOM public opinion survey center found.

The number of Russians drinking alcohol more or less regularly has gone down to 74% from 77% in 1996, the poll shows.

The number of those drinking alcohol several times a week has increased to 8% from 5% in 1996, and this figure is especially high in small towns (44%) and among 18-24-year-old respondents (12%).

The poll, which was conducted in 140 communities in 42 regions of Russia, showed that 23% drink alcohol two or three times a month, 18% once a month, and 25% less frequently than once a month. About 24% of Russians do not drink alcohol at all, and the number of such is higher in large and medium-sized cities (26% and 27% respectively) and among those older than 60 (47%).

The poll also showed that 45% of men and 18% of women drink at least several times a month, while 31% of women and 18% of men said they drink less than once a month. The number of non-drinking respondents is roughly twice higher among women than among men - 31% against 16% respectively.

Compared to 2005, the number of Russians supporting the need for and efficiency of an anti-alcoholism campaign similar to the Perestroika times has dropped to 8% from 15%.

What is noteworthy is that the number of those finding such a campaign efficient is twice as high among respondents not drinking alcohol than among those drinking alcohol (12% and 6% respectively), while the latter are more inclined to consider it a mistake from the very start (35% against 27% of the non-drinking respondents).

Although Russians, as before, are inclined to think that, compared to the Gorbachev era, their compatriots drink more now, the number of respondents who hold this view has dropped to 55% from 61% in 2005.

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