My ex wife and all her friends were from Russia - first generation. I met her when I was 16 and had my fair share of vodka at parties from age 16 on up. Basically, they wouldn't drink Russian vodka, though... they preferred Absolut. Perhaps the quality of Russian vodka has increased, but I even noticed a difference in how harsh the Russian stuff was and how much smoother the Swedish stuff was.
Nas darovia (or how ever it is spelled!)