Archive article posted on 2013-03-01
The history of the development of all mankind is closely related to the use of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is actually an Arabic word, meaning something special, exquisite. And the birth of fermented drinks dates back to the founding of agriculture, that is, about ten thousand years BC. And how did it happen that from honey mash, barley beer and koumiss, widespread among the ancient Slavs, conditions were formed in the Russian state under which alcoholism became a national problem. Why the culture of consumption of alcoholic beverages has become similar to what we have today. And how did it happen that no one in the world accepts us as a highly intellectual nation that has given the world many great discoveries and talented scientists, a nation of strong people who know how to love and defend their Motherland. On the contrary, there is a downright unshakable conviction that no one can drink a Russian person. Let's try to trace the history of the emergence of alcoholic beverages in our homeland.
A number of authoritative sources recommend looking for the roots of this strange inclination of Russians to excessive use of "bitter" in the history of their ancestors, nomadic Scythian tribes who lived in the territories from the Black Sea region to the Urals. As the first ancient Greek “father of history” Herodotus describes in his writings, the Scythians were simply pathological drunkards, and undiluted, unlike the Greeks, wine was drunk not only by men, but by the entire population, from children to deep elders. At the same time, practically “the laws of the jungle” reigned in the Scythian tribes, where the strongest survived, and the weak and useless could not only be killed, but even eaten. Despite this, according to the first historical descriptions of Herodotus, the Scythian state was so huge and powerful that it could resist even Darius, the formidable king of Persia, who conquered Babylon. But precisely because of their inability to resist drunkenness, the Scythians were later defeated by the Sarmatians, who, knowing about the weakness of the nomads for "fiery" drinks, arranged a "feast of reconciliation" for the leaders, where they were barely killed with their bare hands. The Scythians, one might say, drank their state on drink. And from century to century, as their own ridiculous excuse, ardent lovers of alcoholic beverages have quoted the words of the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir that "Russia is fun to drink, we cannot be without that." It was with this phrase that he allegedly brushed aside the proposal of the Islamic world to convert Russia to his faith. Say, they have a ban on wine, but we just can't do without drinking, because it's not fun!
Authors who adhere to a different point of view believe that the myth of the deep roots of the Russian people's craving for drunkenness has absolutely no foundation. Indeed, not a single chronicle of pre-Moscow Russia mentions drunkenness as a socially unacceptable form of drinking. In those days, intoxicating drinks were low-degree, and since most of the inhabitants did not have excess food for their production, the Russians drank extremely rarely: on Orthodox holidays, on the occasion of weddings, commemorations, christenings, the appearance of a baby in the family, the completion of the harvest. Also, the reason for "taking on the chest" before the adoption of Christianity in Russia was a victory in a battle with enemies. The "prestigious" form of drinking alcohol in those days was feasts organized by princes, and even then "not for fun", but to consolidate the trade agreements they concluded, diplomatic relations and as a tribute to the guests of the state. Also, according to an ancient custom, the Slavs took alcohol before or after eating, but never during. When vodka appeared in Russia later, they drank it without eating. Perhaps it was this habit that became the forerunner of mass drunkenness.
Kissing ceremony, Makovsky Konstantin Egorovich
Despite the fact that intoxicated drinks were significantly inferior in strength to today's "potions", their very use was widely condemned. Vladimir Monomakh, in his "Teaching", which dates back to 1096, warned the Russian people about the harmful effects and consequences of abuse. And in his "Domostroy" monk Sylvester, revered at the level of the saints, wrote: "… open up drunkenness from yourself, in this sickness, and all evil rejoices from it …"
The generally accepted fact is that alcohol (originally grape) appeared in Russia after the Battle of Kulikovo, the victory in which did not allow Mamai to block the trade routes connecting Crimea and central Russia. The Genoese, who were already excellent marketers at that time, felt the new trends and in 1398 brought alcohol to the territory of Southern Russia. But contrary to expectations, the Russians accustomed to mead did not appreciate the taste of chacha imposed by foreigners. In addition, it was sold seasonally during the fall and winter through a free inn, for the management of which a respected person was elected for a specified period. The community strictly monitored the quality of the drinks sold, as well as to ensure that there were no abuses, which were immediately suppressed and ridiculed. The tavern looked more like not a beer tavern, but a men's club, where women and children were strictly prohibited from entering. Spirits became more accessible and widespread only almost two centuries later, when Russia's own domestic distillery production began to gain momentum. And the first vodka brand can rightfully be considered bread vodka, since due to the lack of grapes, we had to learn to drive alcohol on the basis of rye grains.
Returning from a campaign against Kazan in 1552, Ivan the Terrible issued a ban on the sale of "bitter" in Moscow. Only the guardsmen were allowed to drink it, and even then only in the "tsar's taverns", the first of which was opened in 1553 on Balchug, almost immediately becoming the most popular place for the tsar's and his retinue's amusements. Sensing the smell of serious income, the state almost immediately took alcohol production and sale of vodka under its wing, seeing in them a bottomless source of replenishment of the treasury. At the same time, hitherto existing taverns were closed in Russia, and from now on it was allowed to sell vodka only in specially created tsar's kruzhechny courtyards, which became legal state institutions for the sale of strong drinks.
At first glance, it might seem that the measures taken had a positive impact on the trade in vodka, because quality control was exercised over the alcohol products sold, and their widespread and universal consumption was prohibited. At that time, only the townspeople and peasants were allowed to drink in taverns. The rest of the people could "use" only in their own home, and even then not all of them. According to the decision of the Stoglav Cathedral, held in 1551, people of creative labor were generally strictly forbidden to drink under any pretext. This decision was generally one of the first evidence of a new misfortune that arose in Russia, it directly called: "To drink wine for the glory of the Lord, and not for drunkenness."Soon the appetites of the highest statesmen grew, they wanted to fill the treasury and their own pockets with "alcoholic money" as soon as possible. This led to the fact that already in 1555 the princes and boyars were given permission to open private drinking establishments. And the nobility everywhere expanded the network of entertainment taverns, which since then have become a truly popular misfortune. And although in 1598 Godunov forbade the sale and production of vodka privately, closing all the numerous unofficial establishments, in their place were immediately opened "tsarist taverns".
Thus began a new round of pursuit of the "drunken" budget, which has always come out sideways for Russia. The ubiquitous ransom payments, in which the owner of the tavern paid the treasury a set amount every month, and then could safely trade in alcohol, beating off the lost money, contributed to the fact that the owners began to look for side ways to generate income. It was during this period that the first "burned" vodka began to appear. The appearance of special posts, “kissing people”, who were elected by the community and had to report to the governors of the sovereign about all movements of alcohol circulation, did not contribute to the improvement of the situation. Moreover, “at the top” they demanded a constant increase in income, because the greed of statesmen was growing. And no one seemed to be bothered that an increase in turnover meant a large volume of alcohol consumed.
The rapid increase in the craving for drinking among the broad masses, as well as the increasing number of complaints and petitions from representatives of the clergy about the closure of entertainment establishments, as a source of many deadly sins, forced Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Quiet (Romanov) to bring the burning problem in 1652 for consideration by the Council. which at that time was the most democratic governing body in all of Europe. Since the main issue of the meeting, which was personally attended by Patriarch Nikon, was the alcohol problem, in history it received the name "Cathedral of taverns". It resulted in a legislative charter, according to which the purchase and sale of alcohol on credit was prohibited, and all private establishments were closed (for the umpteenth time already). Representatives of the church went to the people with sermons about the great harm of drunkenness and its anti-Christian consequences.
But Russian laws have always been remarkable for their amazing quality - the initial severity was successfully compensated for by their ignorance and non-observance, and without any particular consequences for violators. The incurred damage was not to the liking of the representatives of the authorities, and already in 1659 the same Alexei Mikhailovich backtracked, because it was time to "make a profit for the treasury." In a number of regions, ransoms reappeared, and the nobles again received the go-ahead for the production of "strong drinks", although the price for them became fixed.
Due to the imposed tavern style of drinking alcohol in pre-Petrine times, drunkenness was mainly common among commoners. Wealthy people and aristocrats could independently produce wine for home consumption and were not so prone to vice. Realizing that alcoholism is driving the Russian people into the abyss more and more, some "conscious" strata of the population tried to fight the "general fun". Unfortunately, not only by peaceful means. The seventeenth century was marked by a series of riots, during which desperate residents, despite fear of possible punishment, were taken to destroy taverns. The educated and enlightened public from the upper strata also did not stand aside. In 1745, by order of Peter the Great, the Imperial Academy of Sciences compiled "Indications for everyday life", which includes a set of certain rules of behavior at a feast. Several paragraphs were devoted to the use of alcohol. They said that one should "not drink first, be abstinent and avoid drunkenness," and also never forget that "alcohol binds the mind and loosens the tongue." To combat drunkenness, severe punishments were established, and work buildings were erected to correct alcoholics.
Of course, on the one hand, Peter understood what harm alcoholism was doing to the people, but on the other, the treasury was empty. In addition, Russia now and then participated in wars, and to maintain a powerful army and navy, it was necessary to replenish resources. Therefore, after the Northern War, which squeezed the last juice out of the country, Peter I again began to expand the ransoms that had been practiced before him. The king ordered to impose new duties and taxes on the distilleries, taking into account each distillation cube of finished products. The soldering machine started up with renewed vigor. His successor, Catherine II, completely let go of the reins when she was in power, again returning the privilege of owning private production to the nobles. In addition to an increase in the volume of strong drinks drunk, this also led to the fact that private vodka began to crowd out state-owned products on the market, and not always of decent quality. The Empress herself bluntly admitted that "a drinking country is much easier to rule." And in accordance with the new system of ranks, military ranks began to be assigned depending on the number of wineries. Such a policy led to a sad outcome, when by the end of the 19th century there were already more than five hundred thousand drinking establishments in the country, and alcohol consumption became not just massive, but turned into an absolutely uncontrollable process.
Having ascended the throne, Pavel Petrovich wrapped up many of the reforms of his mother, in particular, he began to revive the state monopolization of vodka production, which would allow high profits from manufacturers and control the quality of drinks. He was not afraid of the anger of the nobility, which, quite possibly, was one of the reasons for the elimination of the objectionable sovereign. Having gained power and frightened by his father's bitter experience, Alexander at first turned a blind eye to the lawlessness that reigned in a country where not only nobles, but also merchants were engaged in the production of alcohol, who perfectly understood all the benefits of a relatively simple vodka production. However, in 1819, the tsar, like his predecessors, tried to revive the state monopoly, in which the state took over the production and wholesale trade, and the retail troubles were transferred to private traders. In addition to these soft measures, a single price was introduced for the "strong" one, henceforth a bucket of "water of life" cost seven rubles, which was supposed to prevent the development of speculation in the sale of alcohol. And in 1863, the ransom system was replaced by an excise one. The result of such "good" enterprises was that by 1911, ninety percent of the alcohol consumed was the strongest drinks, and people were practically weaned from beer and wine. It got to the point that, due to mass libations, the mobilization of the population was repeatedly disrupted as a result of the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war. It was the current catastrophic situation that forced Tsar Nicholas at the very beginning of the First World War to declare the world's first "dry" law throughout the vast territory of our country. At first, the law was introduced at the time of the collection from June 19, 1914, and then in August it was extended until the end of hostilities.
Progressive minds immediately noted that, simultaneously with the ban on alcohol, the number of accidents at enterprises, deaths from illness and mental illness, and also the number of fights, fires and murders, which were committed mainly while drunk, decreased significantly. However, the tsar's law discovered an equally dangerous hidden side source. Since it was officially possible to buy strong alcohol only in restaurants that were inaccessible to the bulk of the population, home brewing literally began to flow in the country. Nevertheless, the steps taken by the authorities had an effect, because the consumption of alcohol in the country per person has decreased almost tenfold! And looking ahead, it should be noted that the positive effect of the measures taken by Nicholas, and then supported by the revolutionary government, could be observed right up to 1960. It was in this year that the country again reached the level of alcohol consumption in 1913. By a decree of September 27, 1914, the Cabinet of Ministers transferred powers to impose bans on alcohol locally to city councils and rural communities. Some of the State Duma deputies even made a proposal to consider a draft law on eternal sobriety in the Russian state.
The Council of People's Commissars, which took all power into their own hands after the revolution, continued the anti-alcohol policy, banning in December 1917 both the production and sale of vodka throughout the country. All wine cellars were sealed, and for their unauthorized opening, the new government threatened to be shot. Lenin in his writings clearly formulated the position of the authorities on this issue, saying that "we, like the capitalists, will not use vodka and other dope, despite the tempting benefits, which, however, will throw us back." In parallel, a struggle was carried out against the flourishing moonshine brewing, although not always successfully. In the early twenties, when the authorities even paid a monetary reward for each confiscated moonshine still, the volume of seized moonshine was estimated in tens of thousands of cubic meters. But no matter how hard the new rulers tried to resist the temptation, the advantages of "drunken" enrichment took their toll. Already at the end of the summer of 1923, the green light was again given to the state production of "bitter". In honor of the head of the Council of People's Commissars, the commissar's vodka was popularly called "Rykovka". The "leader of the peoples" also adhered to the point of view that "vodka is evil, and without it it would be better", but he did not consider it shameful "to get a little dirty in the mud for the sake of the victory of the proletariat and in the interests of the common cause." As a result, in 1924, the dry law was canceled, and everything began to gradually return to normal.
The further development of events in Russia proceeded similarly to the scenario passed more than once, when the next measures to combat drunkenness were replaced by new outbursts of mass alcoholism. The partial ban on drinking alcoholic beverages during the Great Patriotic War slowed down the pernicious process, but after the end of the war, the consumption of vodka increased several times. In the end, the new General Secretary was at the helm of power, who wished to immortalize his name with a large-scale anti-alcohol campaign. At that time, such a level of development of alcoholism was observed in the country that, according to the academician and famous surgeon Fyodor Uglov, an almost complete degeneration of the nation could occur. Alarming symptoms forced Mikhail Gorbachev to start "shock therapy", because "the task required a firm and unswerving solution." And among other things, he also wanted to strengthen his fragile position in the Politburo, hoping for the support of the population in a progressive undertaking to bring the country out of a long binge.
Initially, the campaign was a series of quite logical sequential measures to gradually reduce the production of cheap wines and vodka. The process should not have affected the production of cognacs, champagne and dry wines. A healthy lifestyle was promoted, and the construction of sports clubs and recreation parks began in a number of regions. However, due to the tough confrontation of individual representatives of the authorities, each of whom tried to pull the blanket over himself, during the discussion of the final version, tougher amendments were made that turned the smooth progressive struggle against drunkenness into a kind of assault attack. The result of such excesses was not only billions of dollars in budget losses that occurred almost simultaneously with the rise in world oil prices, but also spoiled relations with brothers in the socialist camp, whom no one bothered to warn in time about the reduction in the supply of "strong" drinks.
At the very beginning of the ongoing anti-alcohol struggle, of course, positive shifts were noticeable. For example, mortality fell by twelve percent, remaining at that level until the early nineties. But then the excessive harshness of measures led to an exorbitant increase in home brewing, economic crime and the use of dangerous surrogates by the population, which more than compensated for all the successes. As a result, the campaign slowly came to naught, and irreparable damage was caused to the prestige of the General Secretary and his team. It is also curious that at the first government reception in October 1985, that is, after the start of the anti-alcohol campaign, the number of guests present was significantly reduced. Such an unexpected turn made the leaders of the country return cognacs and wines to the festive tables of politicians.
Yegor Gaidar was still trying to pick up the baton of the anti-alcohol struggle, but unpredictable Russia again turned in the wrong direction. As a result of the measures he carried out, the country's budget suffered again, and the private, mainly criminal, business was greatly enriched due to additional opportunities. We still feel the consequences of the reforms that Yegor Timurovich actively began to implement, because at this time, when the state was practically deprived of its traditional monopoly on alcohol, secondary producers of vodka of dubious quality began to flourish in the country. As a result, along with their super profits, the number of people affected by "alcoholic mixtures" began to grow, the annual number of which now equals the population of a small town.
An analysis of the last five hundred years of Russian history clearly shows how those at the helm of power were torn between the desire for easy money through the sale of alcohol and concern for the health of the country's inhabitants. Today, the authorities have set minimum prices for alcohol, and wine and vodka products have been removed from street kiosks and wholesale food markets. For stores that can obtain a license to sell vodka, strict parameters are set. But at the same time, there is an increase in the number of sobering-up centers, and for the first time, women's establishments have appeared. And a complete ban on the sale of alcohol is hardly possible, since the alcohol industry is one of the main income items of our state. Experts, analyzing the experience of the anti-alcoholic impulses experienced by the country at different times, are trying to work out the most correct strategy. At the moment, there are several options, one of which is the sale of alcohol only through a few special stores and at a very high price. Vodka, according to supporters of this path, is not a basic necessity and should not be available to the middle class. Indeed, if the Customs Union introduces a unified excise tax in the planned amount (twenty-three euros for one liter of alcohol), then a bottle of "bitter" will cost more than four hundred rubles! However, what about the inevitable growth of home brewing, which was difficult to control at all times?
Another way out of the situation into which our country was driven by the years of uncontrolled sale of alcoholic beverages, is, according to respected experts, an increase in the standard of living, and most importantly, the culture of the population, since this completely changes human priorities and alcohol in general fades into the background … However, this process will be very long and difficult, since it will be necessary to change the well-formed way and way of life, as well as the habits of entire generations (especially those growing up) of the inhabitants of our country.
Newspaper reports that the United States has the highest productivity since the weekend make Russians understandably laugh. For our resident, this is often impossible after the common two-day relaxation on the weekend with a glass in hand. Today, Russians consume about fourteen and a half liters of excise pure 96% alcohol annually. However, that's not counting homemade drinks. Vodka monarchies grow like mushrooms after the rain, the factories of which look like miraculous palaces. Traditional Russian drinking continues to be one of the main problems of modern Russia. Studies show that over fifty percent of our working-age compatriots die from alcohol. In the current trend, alcohol will cause five percent of young women and twenty-five percent of men to die before fifty-five. Alcoholism is becoming more and more common among the elderly. As a result of depression, leaving work, fear of death, loneliness, every eighth person over the age of sixty becomes a drunkard. For the country to become extinct, we do not need any massive epidemics or wars. According to forecasts, only thanks to alcoholic beverages, the population of Russia will decrease to 130 million people by 2025. It's time for the state to admit that the situation has reached the scale of a catastrophe, it's time to try to create conditions for saving the gene pool of the great nation, which now has the highest mortality rate in Europe.
