There was a Russian proverb that went: Even the walls help you in your own home.
Russia at the end of the seventeenth century was a backward country, still at the level of the Middle Ages in some respects. Peter the Great, still young, hoped Russia could reconnect with Europe, so accompanied by his Scottish adviser Patrick Gordon and the Genevan François Trevor, he embarked on a "grand tour."
"Great" always gave the impression of someone solemn, but Peter had been quite the reveler in his youth. From the age of seventeen or eighteen, he had thrown himself into Moscow's nightlife. Tall and able to drink anyone under the table, he was famous in the unofficial organization known as the "Most Drunken and Maddest Council of Jesters and Fools."
"The other side" was the Eastern Orthodox Church. Church representatives condemned the group's depraved behavior, yet many monks considered participating in the Council's drinking binges an honor. In fact, if Islam had not forbidden alcohol, Russians might not have opened their doors so readily to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Later, Peter the Great, who had drunk half of Russia under the table, suddenly came to his senses. He could not let his people remain so drunk. To keep them sober, he decided to introduce beer in place of vodka.
Russia had never been a country that drank only vodka. They also had mead and kvass, though both were generally considered drinks for children. It was not until Catherine the Great's era that beer became accepted among educated urban residents, largely because it had been improved and was more potent than its European counterparts.
Russians began breakfast with a glass of vodka, but vodka with rye bread and pickles was no match for Baltic Sea porter. This dark beer went exceptionally well