MEN'S HEALTH, RUSSIAN STYLE

Magazine Appeals To Macho Drinkers

MOSCOW -- In this haven of hard drinking and heavy smoking, where vices are
still valued as the measure of a real man, the inaugural edition of Men's
Health magazine in Russian has hit newsstands with musings on the virtues
of vegetables, suave conduct at business lunches and tips for tasteful
selection of a New Year's gift for the boss.

But what serves as a guide to good health and savoir-faire in Western
countries has to tailor its message to Russians whose appetite for advice
on clean living is swiftly sated.

Macho Russians

``It's not the No. 1 subject for our readers right now,'' Russian edition
Editor Ilya Bezugly said of the magazine's stifling of stories urging
moderation. ``We don't want to scare them off with too much talk against
drinking. Our readers are more macho than men in the West, and our articles
will have to address that.''

Among the items in the 132-page January issue is a six-step lesson on how
to uncork a champagne bottle properly and a postscript with pointers for
winning a drunken brawl.

The Russian magazine, published bimonthly in 50,000 copies that sell for
between $3 and $4.25, aims at a younger, brassier audience than in the
United States, Western Europe, Australia and South Africa.

Yet an explosion of pricey new fitness clubs testifies to younger Russians'
keener interest in health. Memberships in clubs such as Gold's Gym and the
World Class Fitness Center in Moscow sell for as much as $2,500 a year.

First, Advice On Sex

For now, Men's Health plans to focus in Russia first on sex, careers,
relationship advice and adventure travel, then ease into fitness and diet
restraint, Bezugly said. Georgy Shonus, 31, a currency-transaction manager
at Moscow's RIKK-Bank, said he found a lot of useful information in the
first edition.

``I especially like its anti-feminist position,'' he said of the courtship
advice column titled ``Brilliant Answers to Her Most Foolish Questions.''

He also liked the career tips and guidance on demonstrating taste and
sophistication on a date. An example of the advice: ``Don't stare at her
breasts and refrain from few hours.''

Alcoholism is epidemic in Russia, with as many as 60 percent of the male
population afflicted. The vast majority of Russian men smoke cigarettes,
and a man's life expectancy is 60. Drug abuse is widespread, blamed largely
on the economic turmoil of the past decade that has thrown millions of
middle-aged men out of work.