On March 11, 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev took over as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and became the last head of the then still large and powerful state. He began his activity with a global restructuring of the system, one of the first stages of which was the anti-alcohol campaign.

The goal of Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign

Gorbachev immediately took a course towards actively accelerating the socio-economic development of the state and set about implementing an anti-alcohol program, which the Central Committee began to jointly prepare under Brezhnev. However, Leonid Ilyich himself did not consider it a priority task and did not support it.

It must be admitted that Gorbachev had the best intentions. In an interview, he said that the situation with massive drunkenness had reached a critical point by that time. Almost half of the adult male population has stepped over the line of alcoholism, and women have also become addicted to a glass. Drunkenness at work, a large number of accidents, children abandoned by alcoholic parents to the mercy of fate - all these problems demanded an immediate solution. And then Mikhail Sergeevich decided to deal with the situation radically, as they say, chopped off the shoulder.

Global plans and their implementation

On May 16, 1985, the Presidium under the leadership of Gorbachev issued a decree "On strengthening the fight against drunkenness." The global anti-alcohol campaign began to gain momentum abruptly.

The main ways of implementation, tangible for the population:

● increase in alcohol prices by 2 or more times;
● widespread decrease in the number of alcoholic beverage outlets;
● limiting the time of sale (only from 14.00 to 19.00);
● tougher punishment for drinking alcohol in public places (including city parks, railway trains).

The campaign was launched on a grand scale. Healthy lifestyles, non-alcoholic weddings, anniversaries and other festive events were promoted everywhere. Non-alcoholic champagne appeared on the market, which was offered to replace the present. But the excesses did not end there either, it was just the harmless tip of the "non-alcoholic" iceberg.

Consequences of the 1985-1990 anti-alcohol campaign

The people were not ready, by decree of the Central Committee, to part with their addiction and quit drinking. Simultaneously with the beginning of Gorbachev's non-alcoholic campaign, the development of the Soviet era of moonshine, clandestine alcohol trade and speculation in alcoholic beverages began. Moonshine and vodka from under the floor were traded by enterprising citizens and taxi drivers. The main “raw material” for home brewing - sugar, which soon began to be sold on coupons, disappeared from the shops, and long queues lined up at the alcoholic beverage departments.

The use of a dubious alcoholic surrogate led to massive outbreaks of poisoning. They drank industrial alcohol, cologne, denatured alcohol and other hazardous substances containing degrees. Drug traffickers tried to fill in part the "vacuum niche" - it was then that the growth of drug addiction, which became a global problem, began.

But the biggest damage was done to the vineyards. According to reports, about 30% were destroyed, which is a third more than the losses during the Second World War. In Moldova, in the Crimea, in the Kuban, in the North Caucasus, some unique collection grape varieties were completely exterminated, and selection work was prohibited. The persecution of talented breeders began, who devoted their whole lives to this.

And also anti-alcohol shock therapy caused serious damage to the economy of the country, which was not in the best position from the very beginning of perestroika.

Positive results or embellished facts?

After the start of the anti-alcohol campaign, the local people happily reported about an increase in the birth rate, a decrease in crime and an increase in life expectancy. However, in reality, everything did not look quite like that. It was in those years that a real rampant criminality began, so that the data on the reduction in crime is more correctly called wishful thinking. And the rise in the birth rate and the increase in life expectancy, historians and political scientists are more inclined to associate it with the fact that people were promised a beautiful life and they believed the slogans and perked up.

Let's summarize

The anti-alcohol campaign in no country in the world has yielded the expected results. It is necessary to fight drunkenness not by prohibitions, but by raising the standard of living.

They tried to fight the addiction of Russians to alcohol both in Tsarist Russia and in the Soviet Union. When the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, they administratively banned the production of alcohol until 1923.

Then attempts to combat drunkenness were made several times - in 1929, 1958, 1972. However, the most famous and resonant is considered the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-1987, which characterized the beginning of perestroika and the government. Mikhail Gorbachev.

Drunkenness fight

The first to speak about the need for another anti-alcohol campaign General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Yuri Andropov... According to the Soviet leader, due to the decline in the moral values ​​of alcohol-addicted citizens, the growth of the national economy is slowing down. Indeed, by 1984, according to official statistics, the consumption of alcoholic beverages reached 10.5 liters per person per year, and if we take into account the brewing of home brewing, then all 14. For comparison: during the reign of Tsarist Russia or the reign of Joseph Stalin, one citizen consumed no more than 5 liters alcohol per year. The idea of ​​an anti-alcohol campaign was supported members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU Egor Ligachev and Mikhail Solomentsev.

On May 7, 1985, a resolution was adopted "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism and the eradication of home brewing." The document provided for the strengthening of the fight against the "green serpent", as well as a reduction in the production of alcohol, the time of its sale and the closure of a number of shops selling alcoholic beverages.

And on May 16 of the same year, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On strengthening the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, and the eradication of moonshine" came into force. This document has already introduced administrative and criminal penalties for non-compliance with Prohibition.

“In 1985, a month after the ban was introduced, I had a wedding. Today our wedding is remembered with sincere emotion and laughter, our relatives are normal Soviet people, they love this business. But since it was impossible to drink, they did this: they removed all the bottles, put the teapots, poured cognac into them. And all the guests drank tea, washed down with lemonade. Why did you have to hide? And because everyone was party members, they could have kicked out just once if they saw brandy on the tables, ”recalls Executive Director of the Research Institute of History, Economics and Law Igor Suzdaltsev.

The path to moonshine

As you know, a significant share of budget revenues is made up of alcohol revenues. It seems that the Soviet authorities sincerely wanted to "cure" citizens from drunkenness, since they turned a blind eye to the treasury revenues from alcohol. As part of the implementation of the Prohibition in the USSR, many shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed. The remaining outlets could only sell alcohol from 14:00 to 19:00. In addition, the cheapest bottle of vodka in 1986 rose to 9.1 rubles (the average salary was then 196 rubles). Drinkers were forbidden to drink alcohol on boulevards and in parks, on long-distance trains. If a citizen was caught drinking alcohol in the wrong place, he could be fired from his job, and the party members were expelled from the party.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the USSR did not think to give up the consumption of alcoholic beverages, they just switched to moonshine instead of "official" alcohol. In addition to moonshine, alcohol-containing surrogates increasingly appeared on the tables of Soviet citizens.

Soviet anti-alcohol poster

The anti-alcohol campaign dealt an irreparable blow to winemaking and viticulture - it was planned to reorient this structure to the production of table varieties of berries. The state has reduced the program to finance the establishment of new vineyards and the care of existing plantings. In addition, the felling of vineyards was widely practiced on the territory of the Soviet republics. For example, out of 210 thousand hectares of vineyards located in Moldova, 80 thousand were destroyed. In Ukraine, 60 thousand hectares of vineyards were cut down. According to the ex-secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Republic Yakov Pogrebnyak, revenues from vineyards accounted for a fifth of the budget of Ukraine.

In Russia, over five years (from 1985 to 1990), the area of ​​vineyards has decreased from 200 to 168 hectares, and the average annual harvest of berries has almost halved - from 850 thousand tons to 430 thousand tons.

Yegor Ligachev and Mikhail Gorbachev denied the involvement of the top leadership of the USSR in cutting down the vineyards. According to Gorbachev, the destruction of the vine was a step against him.

Alcohol "took revenge" on the budget

As a result, Prohibition resulted in budget holes - if, before the start of the anti-alcohol campaign, about a quarter of the state treasury receipts from retail trade accounted for alcohol, then in 1986 the state treasury revenues from the food industry amounted to only 38 billion rubles, and in 1987 even 35 billion rubles. instead of the previous 60 billion. The fall in budget revenues from alcohol coincided with the economic crisis that began in 1987, and the Soviet government had to abandon the fight against drunkenness.

The anti-alcohol campaign of the 80s is called the most serious mistake of the perestroika period. Even its initiator, Yegor Ligachev, admitted the fallacy of this idea. “I was the most active organizer and conductor of that anti-alcohol campaign.<…>We wanted to quickly rid the people of drunkenness. But we were wrong! To cope with drunkenness, you need many years of active, smart anti-alcohol policy ", - quoted by Ligachev Evgeny Dodolev in the book “The Red Dozen. The collapse of the USSR ".

However, the effect of Prohibition is still ambiguous. Firstly, with such a complex of measures, alcohol sales per capita decreased by 2.5 times, according to the data of the State Statistics Service. At the same time, life expectancy has increased, the birth rate has increased and mortality has decreased. According to statistics, during the period of the anti-alcohol campaign, 500 thousand more children were born than in recent decades, the weakened newborns were 8% less. Moreover, during the Prohibition period, life expectancy among men increased by 2.6 years, which was the maximum in the entire history of Russia.

A decree was issued on the resumption of production and trade in alcoholic beverages in the USSR.

Campaign of 1929

1958 campaign

1972 campaign

The next anti-alcohol campaign began in 1972. On May 16, Resolution No. 361 "On measures to strengthen the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism" was published. It was supposed to reduce the production of spirits, but instead to expand the production of grape wine, beer and soft drinks. The prices for alcohol were also increased; the production of vodka with a strength of 50 and 56 ° was discontinued; the time of sale of alcoholic beverages with a strength of 30 ° and above was limited to the interval from 11 to 19 hours; medical and labor dispensaries (LTP) were created, where people were forcibly sent; scenes with the use of alcoholic beverages were cut from the films. Campaign slogan: "Drunkenness - fight!"

1985-1990 campaign

At present, the most famous is the anti-alcohol campaign of the period - years, which took place at the very beginning of Perestroika (the period of the so-called "acceleration"), when, in spite of the previous stages of the struggle, alcohol consumption in the USSR was growing steadily. It began two months after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and therefore received the name "Gorbachev's".

By the end of the 1970s, the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the USSR reached a record level in the history of the country. Alcohol consumption, which did not exceed 5 liters per person per year, neither in the Russian Empire, nor in the era of Stalin, reached by 1984 the mark of 10.5 liters of registered alcohol, and taking into account underground moonshine, it could exceed 14 liters. It was estimated that this level of consumption was equivalent to about 90-110 bottles of vodka a year for every adult male, excluding a small number of teetotalers (vodka itself was about of this volume. The rest of the alcohol was consumed in the form of moonshine, wine and beer).

The initiators of the campaign were members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Solomentsev and E.K. to the work of which mass alcoholism was guilty.

The execution was unprecedented in scale. For the first time, the state began to reduce income from alcohol, which was an important item in the state budget (about 30%), and began to sharply reduce its production. After the start of the fight against drunkenness, a large number of shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed in the country. Quite often the complex of anti-alcohol measures in a number of regions ended with this. Thus, the first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU, Viktor Grishin, closed many alcohol shops and reported to the Central Committee that the sobering work in Moscow had been completed. The prices for vodka were raised several times: the popular vodka, popularly nicknamed "Andropovka", which cost 4 rubles before the start of the campaign. 70 k., Disappeared from the shelves, and since August 1986 the cheapest vodka cost 9 rubles. 10 r.

Shops selling alcohol could only do this from 14:00 to 19:00. In this regard, the popular spread has spread:

Tough measures were taken against drinking alcohol in parks and public gardens, as well as on long-distance trains. Those caught drunk were in serious trouble at work. For consuming alcohol in the workplace, they were fired from work and expelled from the party. Banquets related to the defense of dissertations were banned, alcohol-free weddings were promoted. The so-called "zones of sobriety" appeared, in which alcohol was not sold.

In the fulfillment of this task, trade unions, the entire education and health care system, all public organizations and even creative unions (unions of writers, composers, etc.) were also involved without fail.

The campaign was accompanied by intense propaganda for sobriety. Articles by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR FG Uglov about the harm and inadmissibility of consuming alcohol under any circumstances and that drunkenness is not characteristic of the Russian people began to spread everywhere. Censorship removed and paraphrased the texts of literary works and songs, cut out alcoholic scenes from theatrical performances and films, the “non-alcoholic” action movie “Lemonade Joe” was shown on the screen (as a result of the nickname “Lemonade Joe” and “mineral secretary” they were firmly entrenched in Mikhail Gorbachev).

Impact on viticulture and winemaking

The campaign had an extremely negative impact on the wine industry and its raw material base - viticulture. In particular, the allocations for planting vineyards and caring for plantations were sharply reduced, and the taxation of farms was increased. The main guidelines for the further development of viticulture were the Main Directions of Social and Economic Development of the USSR for 1986-1990 and for the period up to 2000, approved by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, in which it was written: it is primarily for the production of table grape varieties. "

Many publications criticizing the anti-alcohol campaign say that many vineyards were cut down during this time. Vineyards were cut down in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and other republics of the USSR.

From 1985 to 1990, the area of ​​vineyards in Russia decreased from 200 to 168 thousand hectares, the restoration of grubbed vineyards was halved, and the establishment of new ones was not carried out at all. The average annual grape harvest fell in comparison with the period 1981-1985 from 850 thousand to 430 thousand tons.

The former secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Yakov Pogrebnyak, who oversaw the control over the implementation of the decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU on strengthening the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism through the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, says:

The trouble is that during the struggle for sobriety, Ukraine lost about a fifth of its budget, 60 thousand hectares of vineyards were uprooted in the republic, the famous Massandra winery was saved from defeat only by the intervention of Vladimir Shcherbitsky and the first secretary of the Crimean regional party committee Makarenko. The secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee Yegor Ligachev and Mikhail Solomentsev, who insisted on the destruction of the vineyards, were active conductors of the anti-alcohol campaign. During his vacation in Crimea, Yegor Kuzmich was taken to "Massandra". For all 150 years of the existence of the famous plant, there are samples of produced wines - a wine collection. All famous wineries in the world have similar storage facilities. But Ligachev said: "This wine collection must be destroyed, and Massandra must be closed!" Vladimir Shcherbitsky could not stand it and called Gorbachev directly, they say, this is already an overkill, and not a fight against drunkenness. Mikhail Sergeevich said: "Okay, save it."

The first secretary of the Crimean regional committee of the CPSU Viktor Makarenko confirms the words of Pogrebnyak. According to him, " Ligachev demanded to destroy vineyards as the primary basis for the production of alcoholic beverages. He even insisted on the liquidation of the famous Massandra winery. Only Shcherbitsky's personal intervention saved her» .

Ligachev himself, in his 2010 interview, denied the cutting down of vineyards according to instructions from “above”, said that the campaign itself and he had been slandered in connection with it, including that “Ligachev, while vacationing in Crimea, came to Massandra and personally closed the winery. One of the leaders died of grief. I want to declare: Ligachev has never been to Massandra. "

According to some reports, 30% of the vineyards were destroyed, compared with 22% during the Great Patriotic War. According to the materials of the XXVIII Congress of the Communist Party of Ukraine, it took 2 billion rubles and 5 years to restore the losses of the destroyed 265 thousand vineyards. biennium - "fight" against drunkenness and alcoholism. "

However, the initiator of the campaign, Yegor Ligachev, claims that in 1985 (at the beginning of the campaign) the area of ​​vineyards amounted to 1 million 260 thousand hectares, in 1988 (after its completion) - 1 million 210 thousand hectares, respectively, the harvest of grapes - 5.8 and 5, 9 million tons. Mikhail Solomentsev in an interview in 2003 to the question "Why were many vineyards cut down in the south of Russia, Crimea and Moldova?" answered: “We grew 92% of technical grapes and only 2% of table grapes. It was recommended to increase the production of table grape varieties. And the vines are cleared and cut down constantly. If before the decree 75 thousand hectares of vineyards were cut down, then after - 73 thousand. "

Mikhail Gorbachev claims that he did not insist on the destruction of the vineyards: "The fact that the vine was cut down was a step against me." In an interview in 1991, he stated: "They tried to make me an inveterate teetotaler during the anti-alcohol campaign."

The biggest loss was the destruction of unique collectible grape varieties. For example, the “Ekim-kara” grape variety, a component of the famous Soviet wine “Black Doctor”, was completely destroyed. Selection work was especially severely persecuted. As a result of persecution and a series of unsuccessful attempts to persuade Mikhail Gorbachev to abolish the destruction of vineyards, one of the leading scientists-breeders, director, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Pavel Golodriga, committed suicide.

Relations with the CMEA countries - Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, in which most of the wine was produced for export to the USSR - worsened sharply. Vneshtorg refused to buy wine in these countries, offering to compensate for lost profits with other goods.

results

The growth in the consumption of “illegal” alcohol did not compensate for the decline in the consumption of alcohol of “legal”, as a result of which a real reduction in the total consumption of alcohol was still observed, which explains the beneficial consequences (a decrease in mortality and crime, an increase in the birth rate and life expectancy) that were observed during the anti-alcohol campaign.

Aimed at the "moral recovery" of Soviet society, the anti-alcohol campaign in reality achieved completely different results. In the mass consciousness, it was perceived as an absurd initiative of the authorities directed against the “common people”. For those widely involved in the shadow economy and the party and economic elite (where a feast with alcohol was a nomenklatura tradition) alcohol was still available, and ordinary consumers were forced to "get it".

The decline in alcohol sales caused serious damage to the Soviet budget system, as the annual retail turnover fell by an average of 16 billion rubles. The damage to the budget turned out to be unexpectedly great: instead of the previous 60 billion rubles in revenue, the food industry brought in 38 billion in 1986 and 35 billion in 1987. Until 1985, alcohol provided about 25% of budget revenues from retail, due to high prices it was possible to subsidize prices for bread, milk, sugar and other products. Losses from the reduction in the sale of alcohol were not compensated, by the end of 1986 the budget had actually collapsed.

At the same time, it strongly stimulated the growth of the shadow economy. V.F. Grushko (former first deputy. Chairman of the KGB of the USSR) in his memoirs "The Fate of a Scout" commented on the results of the anti-alcohol campaign as follows:

Mass dissatisfaction with the campaign and the economic crisis that began in the USSR in 1987 forced the Soviet leadership to end the fight against the production and consumption of alcohol. Although the decrees restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol were not canceled (for example, the formal ban on the sale of alcohol until 2 p.m. was canceled only on July 24, 1990 by the decree of the USSR Council of Ministers No. 724), active propaganda of sobriety was discontinued, and alcohol sales went up. It is estimated that average per capita alcohol consumption significantly exceeded baseline levels by 1994, resulting in a completely catastrophic rise in mortality in Russia.

In culture

The last Soviet anti-alcohol campaign was reflected in culture. So, Andrei Makarevich for the movie "Start over again" was forced to replace the words "Conversation on the train" (1987) [ ] :

When there's nothing else to drink.
But the train goes on, the bottle is empty
And pulls to talk.

But, in connection with the campaign, Andrei Makarevich had to write another version:

Carriage disputes are the last thing
And you can't cook porridge from them.
But the train goes, it got dark in the window,
And pulls to talk.

During the anti-alcohol campaign, methods of secretly storing alcohol in kettles, cans, and other unusual items were common. In the song of the Lyube group "Guys from our yard" there were the words: " Remember, beer was carried in a can, Oh, the whole yard swore at this ... »

The rock group "Zoo", in turn, created and recorded the satirical song "Sobriety is the norm of life", in which it cynically ridiculed the propaganda clichés of that time (non-alcoholic bars, weddings, etc.).

Also, the song of the Leningrad group "Situation" "Prohibition" is dedicated to the Soviet anti-alcohol campaign and its consequences.

A hidden allusion to the anti-alcohol campaign and typical phenomena thereof (the use of alcohol-containing surrogates, home brewing and the sale of moonshine from under the floor) is present in the song "Cucumber Lotion" by the group "Automatic Satisfaction".

see also

Notes (edit)

1. G. G. Zaigraev.

Taking power into their own hands, the Bolsheviks quickly and decisively began the anti-alcohol struggle. The Committee for Combating Pogroms was created, which was headed by V.D. Bonch-Bruevich. On February 21, the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree "The socialist fatherland is in danger!" crimes ". There was also a struggle against moonshine, and here administrative prohibitive measures were reinforced by repressions, accompanied by various excesses, when, for example, an ordinary "drunkard" or "moonshiner" ended up in the category of counterrevolutionaries.

On December 19, 1919, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) adopted a decree "On the approval of the list of legalizations that became invalid with the introduction of the provision on the production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages and their trade" 15. A number of researchers considered it an attempt to restore the "dry law". But there is no need to talk about "dry law" for the reason that the decree did not prohibit the consumption of alcoholic beverages. It was established that the sale of alcohol, spirits and alcohol-containing substances not related to beverages can only be nationalized or registered by the state factories. It is more appropriate to interpret the decree only as the government's desire to restore the wine monopoly, and not "dry law". The actions of the Soviet government on the alcohol issue were not systematic and cannot be regarded as an anti-alcohol campaign. In fact, the Bolsheviks tried not to solve the problem that became a stumbling block for our country, but to give it the character of a struggle against the mythologized image of a counterrevolutionary, whose inherent characteristics were: drunkenness and debauchery as symbols of the outgoing world16. On August 26, 1923, the CEC (Central Executive Committee) of the USSR and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR issued a decree on the resumption of the production and trade of alcoholic beverages in the USSR.

In 1929, a new anti-alcohol campaign began, which was initiated by the Soviet government and local authorities, allegedly at the "demands of the workers." This led to massive closures of beer shops and other hot spots; they were converted into teetotal canteens and teahouses. The publication of the magazine "Sobriety and Culture" was organized, which castigated drunkenness and promoted a healthy lifestyle. A sharp decline in beer consumption led to a reduction in its production and the closure at this time of a number of large breweries in Moscow, Leningrad and other cities of the USSR. Beginning in 1932, the production of drinking alcohol began to decline, at the same time the range of alcoholic beverages expanded, various varieties of vodka, "Soviet champagne", sparkling and vintage wines appeared. The authorities no longer saw anything wrong with the fact that a Soviet person would drink a little after work, and they again started talking about "cultural drinking" 17. The inconsistency of this campaign was also explained by the fact that from the end of the 1920s. industrialization began in our country, which required colossal funds. One of the sources of financial revenues was income from the production and sale of alcohol. Stalin himself proposed "to increase the production of vodka, as far as possible" (secret telegram 1930) 18

During the Great Patriotic War, it was not customary to talk about drunkenness and alcoholism. Food was distributed according to ration cards, vodka was expensive, and it was often replaced with alcohol or moonshine. "People's Commissars" one hundred grams at the front were seen as a means of relieving stress. Non-drinkers were offered sugar instead of vodka, but by 1945 very few people used such a substitute: “There was a shift in the psychological attitude to it [vodka], many in the army got used to it,” writes our Tolyatti ethnographer V. Ovsyannikov19. It is also a sad fact that during the war the number of women drinking sharply increased. Psychologically, this is understandable, since many of them have lost their husbands, sons, fathers and other relatives.

Therefore, only NS Khrushchev decided to fight alcohol next, starting the campaign in 1958 by the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On strengthening the fight against drunkenness and on restoring order in the trade in spirits." It banned the sale of vodka in all public catering establishments (except for restaurants) located at train stations, airports, and at the station squares. The sale of vodka in the immediate vicinity of industrial enterprises, educational institutions, children's institutions, hospitals, sanatoriums, in places of mass festivities and recreation was not allowed. However, this company could not solve the main problem either.

The next anti-alcohol campaign began in 1972. On May 16, Resolution No. 361 "On measures to strengthen the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism" 21 was published. It was supposed to reduce the production of spirits, but instead to expand the production of grape wine, beer and soft drinks. The prices for alcohol were also increased; the production of vodka with a strength of 50 and 56 ° was discontinued; the time of sale of alcoholic beverages with a strength of 30 ° and above was limited to the interval from 11 to 19 hours; medical and labor dispensaries (LTP) were created, where people were forcibly sent; scenes with the use of alcoholic beverages were cut from the films. In this campaign, the slogan appeared: "To drunkenness - fight!".

However, the most sensational and controversial anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR was the 1985 campaign, popularly nicknamed (again in vain) the "dry law" of 1985.

On May 16, 1985, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On strengthening the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of home brewing" 22

The corresponding decrees were adopted simultaneously in all union republics. The execution was unprecedented in scale. For the first time, the state began to reduce income from alcohol, which was an important item in the state budget, and began to sharply reduce its production.

The initiators of the campaign were members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Solomentsev and E.K. to the work of which mass alcoholism was guilty.

After the start of the fight against drunkenness, a large number of shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed in the country. Quite often the complex of anti-alcohol measures in a number of regions ended with this. Thus, the First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU, Viktor Grishin, closed many alcohol shops and reported to the Central Committee that the sobering work in Moscow had been completed.

Shops selling alcohol could only do this from 14.00 to 19.00. In this regard, ditties appeared:

"At six in the morning the rooster sings, at eight - Pugachev, the store is closed until two, the key is at Gorbachev's."

“For a week, until the second,” we'll bury Gorbachev. If we dig up Brezhnev, we will continue to drink ”.

Tough measures were taken against drinking alcohol in parks and public gardens, as well as on long-distance trains. Those caught drunk were in serious trouble at work. Banquets related to the defense of dissertations were banned, alcohol-free weddings were promoted.

The campaign was accompanied by intense propaganda for sobriety. Articles by Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences FG Uglov about the harm and inadmissibility of consuming alcohol under any circumstances and that drunkenness is not typical of the Russian people began to spread everywhere. Alcoholic scenes were cut out of the movies, and the action movie "Lemonade Joe" was shown on the screen (as a result of the nickname "Lemonade Joe" and "mineral secretary" they were firmly entrenched in M. S. Gorbachev).

Strict requirements of refusal from alcohol began to be imposed on the members of the Party. Party members were also required to "voluntarily" join the Temperance Society.

During the years of the anti-alcohol campaign, the officially registered average per capita alcohol sales in the country have decreased by more than 2.5 times. In 1985-1987, a decrease in state sales of alcohol was accompanied by an increase in life expectancy, an increase in the birth rate, and a decrease in mortality.

How many Russian lives were saved by the anti-alcohol campaign of the 1980s?

The number of deaths increased fairly evenly from 1965 to 1984 (Fig. 2). During the same time, according to expert estimates, the real consumption of alcohol increased from 9.8 to 14.0 liters. However, at this stage it is difficult to assess the contribution of alcohol to the increase in mortality, although it is undoubted: from 1965 to 1984, not only the total number of deaths from alcohol poisoning increased, but also their share in the total mortality (from 1.1% in 1965 to 2, 2% 1979) 23. (See Appendix 1)

Thus, during the anti-alcohol campaign, more than 1 million people were saved. This is the main positive result of the anti-alcohol campaign and an indicator that a decrease in alcohol consumption is a significant factor in reducing mortality in Russia.

During the period of the anti-alcohol decree, 5.5 million newborns were born per year, 500 thousand more per year than every year in the previous 20-30 years, and the weakened were born 8% less. The life expectancy of men increased by 2.6 years and reached the maximum value in the entire history of Russia, and the overall crime rate has decreased. (See Appendix 2)

Aimed at the "moral recovery" of Soviet society, the anti-alcohol campaign in reality achieved certain positive results. But in the mass consciousness it was perceived as an absurd initiative of the authorities directed against the "common people". For those widely involved in the shadow economy and the party and economic elite (where a feast with alcohol was a nomenklatura tradition) alcohol was still available, and ordinary consumers were forced to "get it".

The decline in alcohol sales caused serious damage to the Soviet budget system, as the annual retail trade fell on average by 16 billion rubles. The damage to the budget was unexpectedly great: instead of the previous 60 billion rubles in revenue, the food industry brought in 38 billion in 1986 and 35 billion in 1987.

Mass dissatisfaction with the campaign and the economic crisis that began in the USSR in 1987 forced the Soviet leadership to end the fight against the production and consumption of alcohol. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the anti-alcohol campaign in 2005, Gorbachev remarked in one of his interviews: “Because of the mistakes made, a good big deal ended ingloriously” 24.

Here are the opinions of experts assessing the results of the 1985 campaign.

Valery Draganov, businessman, State Duma deputy of the fifth convocation:

The anti-alcohol company was stupid and poorly organized. But then it was not customary to prepare the people for various reforms. You can't even call it a reform. It was just an emotional impulse, influenced by all the talk about change.

The anti-alcohol company of the 80s largely laid the foundation for the future large-scale and already well-organized underground alcohol and alcohol industry in the 90s.

In general, any campaigns in our country, whether under Soviet rule, or now, alas, do not have the success that is usually expected. Although I think that recently, after all, now I can already call it a reform, it is going on more consistently.

Boris Vishnevsky, publicist, political scientist:

On the whole, I remember this as the greatest stupidity. It was not dry law. Nobody stopped drinking. I just had to with great difficulty, firstly, to get alcohol, and, secondly, it was the good wine that almost disappeared, and somehow I never tried to drink the bad one. Therefore, the time was unpleasant.

Also, as far as I know, a lot of vineyards have been cut down in Crimea. Grapes grew there, from which vintage collection wines were made. This subsequently had a very serious impact on the development of winemaking.

Mikhail Vinogradov, political scientist:

The anti-alcohol campaign was perceived to be largely artificial. Its unconditional consequence was a sharp increase in queues, phrases such as “stop at a liquor store, next stop in the middle of the queue” appeared. That is, of course, such a rush of demand has arisen. And consumption, of course, cut off someone, because it was difficult to stand in line, but true fans of alcoholic beverages somehow found an opportunity to find the desired product.

On the whole, probably, as almost always, the fight against alcoholism and other bad habits in the history of Russia still went to a greater extent with consequences, and not with causes. If we talk about the cultural causes of alcoholism in Russia, for example, the often sense of a historical impasse, it is clear that a change in the system of selling alcohol could hardly fundamentally change anything here.

Although the statistics, as far as I understand, speaks of a noticeable decrease in alcohol consumption. Indeed, it may be that what was advertised more openly in the 60s and 70s, in the 80s, alcohol somehow went off the public agenda a little.

But, like any other, the anti-alcohol campaign has been going on quite actively for a couple of years. After that, it turned out to be under the yoke of a general food deficit at the end of the 80s, and then it was forgotten. Accordingly, there is no analysis and analysis of its lessons. And today, restrictions on the sale of alcohol are being introduced, which, like in the 80s, hit, first of all, on low-drinkers.

On May 7, 1985, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism" and the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of home brewing" drunkenness and alcoholism, with a significant reduction in the production of alcoholic beverages, the number of places of sale and the time of sale. Thus, this decree launched the so-called Gorbachev anti-alcohol campaign.

On May 16, 1985, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued "On strengthening the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of home brewing", which reinforced this struggle with administrative and criminal penalties. The corresponding decrees were adopted simultaneously in all union republics.

For the first time, the state began to reduce income from alcohol, which was an important item in the state budget, and began to sharply reduce its production. After the start of the fight against drunkenness, a large number of shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed in the country. Quite often the complex of anti-alcohol measures in a number of regions ended with this. In particular, the first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU, Viktor Grishin, closed many alcohol shops and reported to the Central Committee that the sobering work in Moscow had been completed. The prices for vodka were raised several times: the popular vodka, popularly nicknamed "Andropovka", which cost 4 rubles before the start of the campaign. 70 k., Disappeared from the shelves, and since August 1986 the cheapest vodka cost 9 rubles. 10 r.

In addition, strict measures were taken against drinking alcohol in parks and public gardens, as well as on long-distance trains. Those caught drunk were in serious trouble at work. For consuming alcohol in the workplace, they were fired from work and expelled from the party. Banquets related to the defense of dissertations were banned, alcohol-free weddings were promoted. The so-called "zones of sobriety" appeared, in which alcohol was not sold.

Trade unions, the entire education and health care system, all public organizations and even creative unions were also drawn into the anti-alcohol campaign. The propaganda of sobriety was also organized, one of the stages of which was the dissemination of an article by the academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Fyodor Uglov about the harm and inadmissibility of consuming alcohol under any circumstances and that drunkenness is not characteristic of the Russian people. Censorship removed and paraphrased the texts of literary works and songs, cut alcoholic scenes from theatrical performances and films.

Strict requirements for refusal from alcohol began to be imposed on members of the CPSU, who were also required to enter a sobriety society.
The campaign had an extremely negative impact on the wine industry and its raw material base - viticulture. In particular, the allocations for planting vineyards and caring for plantations were sharply reduced, and the taxation of farms was increased. The main directive document determining the ways of further development of viticulture was the Main Directions of Social and Economic Development of the USSR for 1986-1990 and for the period up to 2000, approved by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, in which it was written: it is primarily for the production of table grape varieties. "

In Moldova, during the anti-alcohol campaign, 80 thousand hectares of vineyards out of 210 thousand were destroyed, and their defenders from the actions of the authorities could receive a prison sentence.

From 1985 to 1990, the area of ​​vineyards in Russia decreased from 200 to 168 thousand hectares, the restoration of grubbed vineyards was halved, and the establishment of new ones was not carried out at all. The average annual grape harvest has dropped in comparison with the period 1981-1985 from 850 thousand to 430 thousand tons.

During the years of the anti-alcohol campaign, the officially registered average per capita alcohol sales in the country have decreased by more than 2.5 times. In 1985-1987, a decrease in state sales of alcohol was accompanied by an increase in life expectancy, an increase in the birth rate, and a decrease in mortality. During the period of the anti-alcohol decree, 5.5 million newborns were born per year, 500 thousand more per year than every year in the previous 20-30 years, and the weakened were born 8% less. The life expectancy of men increased by 2.6 years and reached the maximum value in the entire history of Russia, and the overall crime rate has decreased.

At the same time, the real decrease in alcohol consumption was less significant, mainly due to the development of home brewing, as well as the illegal production of alcoholic beverages at state-owned enterprises. Strengthening home brewing led to a shortage in the retail sale of raw materials for moonshine - sugar, followed by cheap sweets, tomato paste, peas, cereals, etc., which led to an increase in public discontent. The previously existing shadow market of artisanal alcohol received significant development during these years - vodka added to the list of goods that had to be “obtained”. The speculation in alcohol reached unimaginable proportions, even the products of large distilleries were completely bought up by speculators, who received 100-200% profit a day. Despite the decrease in the total number of alcohol poisoning, the number of poisoning with alcohol-containing surrogates and non-alcoholic intoxicants has increased (in particular, the practice of adding dichlorvos to beer in order to increase intoxication has become widespread), and the number of drug addicts has also increased.

Aimed at the "moral recovery" of Soviet society, the anti-alcohol campaign in reality achieved completely different results. In the mass consciousness, it was perceived as an absurd initiative of the authorities directed against the “common people”. For those widely involved in the shadow economy and the party and economic elite, alcohol was still available, and ordinary consumers were forced to “get it”.

The decline in alcohol sales caused serious damage to the Soviet budget system, as the annual retail turnover fell by an average of 16 billion rubles. The damage to the budget turned out to be unexpectedly great: instead of the previous 60 billion rubles in revenue, the food industry brought in 38 billion in 1986 and 35 billion in 1987. Until 1985, alcohol provided about 25% of budget revenues from retail, due to high prices it was possible to subsidize prices for bread, milk, sugar and other products. Losses from the reduction in the sale of alcohol were not compensated; by the end of 1986, the budget, in fact, collapsed.

Mass dissatisfaction with the campaign and the economic crisis that began in the USSR in 1987 forced the Soviet leadership to end the fight against the production and consumption of alcohol. Although the decrees restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol were not canceled (for example, the formal ban on the sale of alcohol before 2 p.m. was lifted only on July 24, 1990), active advocacy of sobriety was discontinued, and alcohol sales went up.

In 2005, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the anti-alcohol campaign, Gorbachev remarked in one of his interviews: "Because of the mistakes made, a good big deal ended ingloriously." According to a poll conducted in the same year, 58% of Russians generally assess the anti-alcohol campaign positively. However, only 15% believe that it has borne positive results.

The anti-alcohol campaign among the people gave rise to many anecdotes and jokes. In particular, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev began to be called “Mineral Secretary” and “Lemonade Joe”, as well as Yegor Ligachev, the main ideologist of the fight against drunkenness. There were also such popular short ditties “At six in the morning the rooster sings, at eight - Pugacheva. The store is closed until two, the key is at Gorbachev's "," For a week, until the second, "we'll bury Gorbachev. If we dig up Brezhnev, we will continue to drink ”.