Pfft, big freaking deal. I've been drinking since age 12. Yes, that must sound incredibly irresponsible and all but believe it or not - my parents let me. See, us Slavik folk know that a little bit of alcohol will never hurt.
In fact, I even have a Russian joke about that:
A man is driving in zig-zags on the freeway with his wife and 3 year-old son and he is immediately pulled over by a cop car. Frusturated, the man pulls over and the policeman walks up to the man and asks:
"Sir, you're driving very recklessly and are endangering the lives of others. Have you been drinking?"
Man: "No, officer, of course I haven't! Honestly - use the breath analyzer on me and you'll see I'm not lying!"
The policeman thought to himself that there would be nothing wrong with that, so he pulls out the breathalyzer and uses it on the man.
Officer: "Hmm, that's odd - this says you've been drinking! Are you lying to me?"
Man: "That can't be right, that thing MUST be broken! Here, just try it on my wife".
So the officer uses the breathalyzer again, except this time on the man's wife.
Officer: "I hate to break this to you, sir, but you are definitely lying to me - this says your wife has been drinking too. Please step out of the car".
Man: "Wait, no, this isn't fair - I'm telling you, that thing is malfunctioning! Please, look, just use it on my 3-year old here".
So the officer uses the breathalyzer once again, but this time on the man's 3-year old son.
Officer: "This is incredibly odd - this says your son has been drinking too! Well that about sums it up, this thing is definitely broken. I'm terribly sorry to bother you, sir. Have a good one".
As the man watches the officer go into his car and drive away, he says:
"See honey? A few shots of Vodka for the kid could never hurt!"