Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is apparently under the impression that curing his country of its alcohol problem has a price — and that price is $3 a bottle.

On Jan. 1, a new law in Russia took effect that sets minimum prices for vodka. Now, the cheapest half-liter bottle costs 89 rubles ($3), nearly double what it cost previously. According to media reports at the time of its launch, the new law was meant to protect the health of Russians as well as curb the black market sale of imitation vodka that is often made with shoddy and harmful ingredients.

But in reality, the new law is a band-aid solution at best. Like many other such misguided efforts that have been tried in Russia, it doesn’t address the root of the problem: how hard-wired Russian society is for...