So a little known fact about early Muscovite culture is the use of Vodka as an erectile aid. The Russian doctor Sildenafov prescribed the use of vodka in one of his books, "to increase fertility and awaken lust”. The воржеѹізи (loosely translated as instruction from early cyrillic) of an early Slavonic Prince, Dmitri Dmitriovich Dmitriov, details with images hallucinations featuring devils, angels and ghosts, all of which feature prominent genitalia. Scholars of the period have put this down to intensive alcohol use, but cannot find an explanation for the lurid portrayal of genitalia. This continued further into the 15th century, and we have the work of Ivanna Kilpolz, a 15th century physician documenting the drink: “This drink has a magical power. It strengthens the weak, and revives those who have fainted. Those tired after work and physical activity can return their life forces by this drink much sooner than by nourishment. … It works miracles for fertility.”

We also have a description of a ritual bathing session in the banyas (Russian saunas) from an East Slavic Chronicle. A wandering Orthodox monk was said to have been seen Karelian witches distributing a type of proto-vodka in the belief that it cured infertility, before eventually arriving as far north as Novgorod, and relating this tale:

"Wondrous to relate," said he, "I saw the land of the Slavs and their bathhouses. They warm them to extreme heat, then undress to their undergarments, and after anointing themselves with tallow, they take young reeds and lash their bodies and their undergarments. They actually lash themselves so violently that they barely escape alive, their undergarments in tatters. Then they douse themselves with [vodka] (the word used here is gorzałka, an early Polish word for Vodka), and thus are revived. They make veritable torture of the mere act of washing.” The reason for this ritual flagellation? It was largely believed to sexually purify them, and increase fertility. The destruction of the undergarment was believed to be symbolic of removing the restrictions that demons placed on fertility.

We see in this image the importance placed upon fertility in feudal Russia. The phallic symbol of the cane about to penetrate the vagina (gate) connotes the Prince’s ‘birth’ into manhood. Only by wielding power both on and off the battlefield could one hope to rule in the fractured nature of post-Kievan Russia. Hence, the importance of vodka was rendered even more critical, and the chronic alcoholism of many of these princes is well-documented in several journals of the period.

Sources

Obshcherusskie letopisi XIV-XV vv. [All-Russian Chronicles of the 14th and 15th Centuries] by Ia. S. Lur’e

Serge A. Zenkovsky, Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles and Tales,Meridian Books 1963.

Aktovye pečati drevnej Rusi X — XV vv. V dvuch tomach [The Charter Seals of 10th—15th Century Old Russia. In two volumes]. Vol. 1: Pečati X - načala XIII v. [10th — Early 13th Century Seals]. Vol. 2: Novgorodskie pečati XIII - XV vv. [13th - 15th Century Novgorodian Seals] by Valentin Lavrent'evič Janin