"Rus fun drink. We can't live without it!" - according to legends, it was this argument that predetermined the choice of Prince Vladimir in favor of Christianity, which, unlike Islam, did not prohibit the use of alcoholic beverages. However, is it worth reducing the turning point of Russian fate to a historical anecdote? Indeed, in the Slavic tradition, sacred intoxication had nothing to do with everyday drunkenness - it was a sacred ritual, a sacred action, permissible only on holidays and at commemoration, but strictly limited in everyday life. Being the gift of the gods - akin to heavenly fire, living and dead water of Russian fairy tales - "Tsar Yar-Buen Khmel" exalted a person on a par with the Immortals, introduced him to higher truths, opened the gates to another world in order to see the innermost and forbidden.