• Tautvydaxx@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      The leading cause of homicide in the Baltic countries is alcohol. What is interesting is that the victims are usually family members and friends, because you drink at the same table and when you argue, you get angry and it ends badly. It is rare that a person is killed without a connection to the killer, and if it does happen, it makes the national headlines.

      During the multiple occupations of the Baltic countries, alcohol was used to control the population. The tsar used it, Stalin used it and now Putin uses it. Alcohol helps to escape from reality and provides comfort. It will take time to overcome the alcoholic generations, measures are being taken to help solve the problem, but you can’t change a country where for more than a hundred years alcoholism was the norm.

      • Ansis100@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I’d just like to interject and say we cause our own alcoholism, thank you very much. No help from our “friend” in the east needed.

    • M137@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Really? wildly waves hands at history

      You gotta be extremely ignorant of even basic history to not see why.

      • thisfro@slrpnk.net
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        4 days ago

        Maybe you’re right. I know very little about the history of the baltics, it never came up even once at school. Also news coverage about it is lackluster at best.

        Do you have any specific events/timeperiods I should look into?

        • ryedaft@sh.itjust.works
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          4 days ago

          Try looking up the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Baltic countries were doing great* before that shit.

          *Well, pretty good and a place like Riga was flourishing

        • Gabrial@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          4 days ago

          Idk, maybe the collapse of Yugoslavia? Perhaps the Ottoman rule and aftermath. Different religions tied to different cultures as a deviding factor seem to stand out to me

          Edit: I can’t read apparently, disregard my comment.

          • gcheliotis@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            The Baltics have nothing to do with Yugoslavia or the Ottoman Empire. This surprised me too and I have no ready explanation.