Toasting Etiquette

• At a traditional Russian gathering, toasts can occur at any time, either before a meal, during it or without a meal at all. Unlike a Western meal or party, where drinking is largely an individual matter, vodka drinking in Russia, as well as in other countries where vodka toasts are traditional, is a communal event that bonds the group and often celebrates a special occasion. It is considered impolite to drink before the host offers a toast, and declining to drink a toast can also be frowned on. Guests who can't handle a dozen or more shots of vodka should arrange to be poured a very small drink before each toast.

Typical Toasts

• The first few toasts at a traditional gathering are relatively standard. Traditionally, the host begins the proceedings by offering a toast to his guests. The second toast should be offered to the hosts by one of the guests. Travel writer Steven Erlanger, writing in "The New York Times" in 1995, reported that the etiquette of the third and later toasts varies. In some Russian circles, particularly among the military, the third toast is drunk to the dead, while the fourth expresses a wish that the third will never be drunk to those assembled. By contrast, Will Stamper, author of "Windows on Russia and Eastern Europe," in a blog on the University of Nottingham website, describes others drinking the third toast to women -- either the women present, or women in general.

Na Zdorovie

• To most Americans and other Westerners, "na zdorovie" (for health) is the typical Russian toast. According to the Fun Russian website, however, this is not generally used as a toast in Russia. It means something more like "You're welcome"; the speaker uses it to reply when someone thanks him. In Polish, however, a similar expression, "na zdrowie," is more commonly used as a toast when drinking vodka. "Vashe zdorovie" (to your health) or "Za zdrovoie" (to health) are more common toasts in Russian.

Other Toasts

• Toasts with vodka can be very elaborate, intended to display the toaster's sense of the poetic. Examples suggested by Partisan-Vodka.com, a website created by two vodka lovers from Germany, include "Let's drink to the word 'love,' never to be used in the past tense." Other common toasts include drinking to parents, to the success of the gathering or to meeting again in the future. By the end of the night, more complicated toasts might be a little difficult, and a simple "do dna!" (to the bottom!) will suffice.