Like so many countries from the former Soviet bloc, Mongolia faced a terrible economic upheaval at the end of the Soviet
Union. In the first few years, inflation went up over 250 percent; employment went down.
And people started drinking much more heavily. "Alcoholism was devastating during the economic hardships of the '90s," writes Jargalsaikhan Mendee, a political scientist and former Mongolian defense attaché to the United States, in an email to Goats and Soda.
The Dalai Lama says he made a difference. In an interview last Sunday with news comedian John Oliver, the Tibetan spiritual leader said, "I suggested [to the Mongolians] drink much less vodka. Instead of that, drink horse milk."
"You tried to wean them off vodka by giving them horse milk?" Oliver replied, incredulously.
"Oh yes. Then they follow," the Dalai Lama said. "Since then I think majority of Mongolians no longer any drink."
The Dalai Lama was actually encouraging people to drink more airag, a fermented brew made from mare's milk, Mendee says. It's a popular traditional beverage that has roots in Central Asian nomadic horse culture going back thousands of years and has an alcohol content similar to hard cider. The idea is that by consuming something less intoxicating than vodka, which is commonly drunk, people might be better off. Vodka often contains 30 or 40 percent alcohol whereas airag is around 5 to 10 percent alcohol by volume.
It's not clear when the Dalai Lama first encouraged Mongolians to lay off hard spirits. Some sources believe it was during his fourth visit to the country in 1995.
