By Russian Affairs analyst Stephen Dalziel

The Russian Government is to raise the tax on vodka by 40%.

The rise will take place before the end of February, just a month before the presidential election.

With Acting President Vladimir Putin hoping to be elected to the post on 26 March, the timing of the decision is curious, as the move will be unpopular with many people.

Alcoholism

It would be difficult to overestimate the place of vodka in Russian life.

More than simply being a national drink, for centuries it has been regarded as the great symbol of both good and bad in Russian society.

Good, because it is a sign of celebration. Bad, because of the chronic levels of alcoholism, and related problems, including a decline in life expectancy.

In recent years, vodka has played an important political role, too.

The former Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachov, angered many of his countrymen when he introduced stringent anti-alcohol laws shortly after coming to power in 1985.

The situation swung to the other extreme when Boris Yeltsin was Russian president, with alcohol - much of it produced cheaply and dangerously - freely available.

Queues

But Mr Yeltsin's fondness for alcohol led him publicly to embarrass Russians on a number of occasions.

The nationalist, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, campaigned for the presidency in 1996 by including a "cheap vodka for all" clause in his programme.

And the Communist leader, Gennady Zyuganov, has already revealed that, if he is elected president in March, he will introduce a state monopoly on the production of alcohol.

Mr Putin will hope now that the majority of people will interpret this price rise as a sign that he wants to get Russia's economy working properly.

But he has also guaranteed that there will be queues for vodka before the price goes up on 25 February.