Anthropological perspectives on alcohol and masculinity in post-Soviet Latvia

Certain geographical and social borderlands breed despair and pessimism. In the post-Soviet Latvian borderlands traditions of alcohol use mark out some of the contradictory expectations of masculinity in the new liberal economy. In this perspective piece I will be looking at how certain discourses serve to conceal the degrading conditions and lack of opportunity in certain occupations. This argument will be pursued in relation to the occupation of timber logging which is an exclusively male occupation (although this was not the case during the early Soviet period). This occupation reflects not just the terms of working conditions but illustrates the gendered nature of misfortune in Latvia. Loggers speak of a lack of perspective in their lives. I will examine the meaning and implications of this lack of perspective.