MOSCOW — The price of the cheapest vodka on the Russian market more than doubled yesterday as the government set a minimum price in an effort to fight rampant alcoholism.

Drinking causes an extraordinary number of deaths in Russia, where male life expectancy is about 60 years.

The minimum price of $3 for 17 ounces of vodka went into effect at the start of the 12-day New Year's and Orthodox Christmas holiday, when alcohol consumption is at its highest.

Russia has one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world — about 4.8 gallons of pure alcohol per person annually.

Past efforts to limit vodka sales, however, have led to increased production of unregulated or homemade vodka, which is estimated to make up nearly half of all vodka consumed.

A study published last year in The Lancet medical journal said drinking has caused more than half of the deaths among Russians aged 15 to 54 since the 1991 Soviet collapse.