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 to actively accelerate 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 an adult male population stepped over the line of alcoholism, addicted to a glass and women. Drunkenness at work a large number of Traffic 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, cut from 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;
● limitation of the time of sale (only from 14.00 to 19.00);
● tougher punishment for drinking alcohol in public places (including in city parks, railway trains).

The campaign was launched on a grand scale. There was propaganda everywhere healthy way life, non-alcoholic weddings, anniversaries and other festive events. 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, development began soviet era moonshine, clandestine alcohol trade and speculation in alcoholic beverages. 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. 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 began, which became a global problem.

But the biggest damage was done to the vineyards. According to available data, 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, local people happily reported on the increase in the birth rate, the decrease in crime and the 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 it would be more correct to call the data on the reduction in crime as 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 sum up

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.

People who, at a conscious age, found the end of the 80s, remember very well what prohibition is in the USSR 1985-1991. This period is also called “Gorbachev's dry law”. This term implied a complete (and somewhere partial) ban on the sale of alcoholic products.

The exception was the production of alcohol for the industrial and medical needs of the country. For the world community, such a campaign was nothing new. But it was she who was remembered by the citizens of the USSR because of its duration. Was the effectiveness of such a taboo? And was the "game worth the candle"?

Gorbachev's dry law became the most memorable among a series of similar experiments

There is one wise folk proverb, which advises "to learn from the mistakes of others." Unfortunately, it is rare that he understands the meaning of these words, and even more so corresponds to them. Despite the fact that almost all laws of economics went through a thorny path of trial and error, the leaders of our country at that time decided not to study the sad experience of other countries.

Prohibition is a measure that is not able to eliminate all the causes of addiction to alcohol. The only thing that such measures can do is to eliminate the availability of alcoholic beverages.

According to the former leaders of the country, such measures should gradually lead to the absolute sobriety of all citizens. Few people know that Gorbachev was not the first general secretary to introduce prohibition in the USSR. With anti-alcohol campaigns, citizens Soviet Union faced earlier in:

• 1913;
• 1918-1923;
• 1929;
• 1958;
• 1972.

The first attempts to combat widespread drunkenness were made by Nicholas II. At that distant time, against the background of hostilities (World War I), crime due to intoxication increased sharply. This step also contributed to the savings in food costs.

M.D. Chelyshov became the founder of the 1913-1914 prohibition law.

And then the revolution came. The Bolsheviks, keen on building a new state, were in no hurry to "enrich" the counters of shops and shops with alcohol. It was not up to that. Only at the beginning of 1923, people were again able to buy alcohol in an affordable sale.

Stalin, who then came to power, was far from being a stupid person and a talented politician. The communist slogan that now everything "belongs to the common people" actually helped the exhausted country to replenish the budget, setting any prices even for low-quality, low-grade alcohol.

Who introduced and who canceled dry laws in Russia

But why is it so vividly engraved in the memory only the struggle against drunkenness under the regime of the last leader of the Land of Soviets? In those sad years, life in the USSR passed under the auspices of a widespread shortage of goods. The introduced ban on alcohol only aggravated the already not rosy psychological state of our citizens... However, such an event had a number of compelling reasons.

Preconditions for the organization of "dry law"

Alcohol at that time was almost the only way to forget and relax for the population of the USSR. One of the main roles was played by the lack of motivation to adhere to a sober lifestyle. The salary for everyone was the same regardless of the quality of work, and there were no penalties for drinking alcohol.

The statistics of that time are striking in terrible numbers: in the period 1960-1980, mortality from alcohol abuse increased fourfold.

Each citizen of the USSR in 1984 had 25-30 liters pure alcohol (even including babies). While in the country of the pre-revolutionary period, this figure was equal to 3-4 liters.

How the dry period began

The next dry law in Russia was planned to be introduced in the early 80s. But the anti-alcohol campaign was postponed due to a series of ascents to the throne and the sudden deaths of the leaders of the Land of Soviets. The main initiators of the taboo were the following members of the Central Committee's Politburo:

1. Solomentsev Mikhail Sergeevich.
2. Ligachev Yegor Kuzmich.

They, like Andropov, were deeply convinced that the reasons for the economic stagnation were the growing mass alcoholism of the people. It was in drunkenness that the leaders of the highest echelon of power saw a general decline in moral and moral values \u200b\u200band negligence in work.

The promotion of a sober lifestyle in the USSR has acquired grandiose proportions

Gorbachev's dry law was truly gigantic. For the sake of combating the general drunkenness of the people, the state even sharply reduced its own revenues from the sale of alcoholic beverages.

The essence of the anti-alcohol campaign

Gorbachev, a promising and promising politician, was well aware of the existing problem and supported the implementation of a large-scale ban on the sale of alcohol throughout the USSR. The famous anti-alcohol campaign began on May 17, 1985. The new project had the following program:

1. It was forbidden to sell alcohol to persons under the age of 21.
2. Advertising of wine and vodka products and the drinking process itself were also prohibited. This affected television, radio, theater and cinema.
3. A complete ban on the sale of vodka products in all enterprises cateringexcept for restaurants.
4. Avoiding the sale of alcohol near educational institutions of all types, hospitals, health resorts, industrial facilities and recreation areas.
5. The time of sale of alcohol also fell under the restriction. Alcohol was now available only from 2 pm to 7 pm.
6. Alcoholic beverages were only allowed to be sold in strictly specialized departments / places. The number of such points was regulated by local officials.

The government planned to gradually reduce the production of alcoholic beverages, and by 1988 to completely stop the production of wines. The leading members of the Communist Party and the heads of enterprises were strictly forbidden to drink alcohol up to their expulsion from the Communist Party.

What have you achieved by this law

The large-scale anti-alcohol Gorbachev campaign had a number of positive and negative aspects. According to statistics collected by 1988, the result of Prohibition was the following results.

Negative moments

Across all expanses huge country almost instantly and unexpectedly for citizens, more than 2/3 of the shops selling alcohol ceased to exist. Alcohol could now be bought between 14-19 hours. The most famous vineyards of Moldova, the Caucasus and Crimea were destroyed.

What prohibitionists say

One of the main and saddest losses from Prohibition was the irrecoverable loss of unique grape wine varietiesoblivion old traditions production of exclusive collection wines.

But on the emerging deficit, there will always be enterprising citizens who want to earn extra money. The cunning "businessmen" were instantly formed during the alcohol deficit. Such merchants at that time were known under the name "speculators, hucksters".

But, because of the existing Iron Curtain, the borders of the USSR were tightly closed, so the underground trade in alcohol was not as massive as during a similar campaign in the United States. At that time, vodka even became a bargaining chip, for it they willingly agreed to earn extra money and go out of their way.

In some regions, vodka began to be sold with coupons

Moonshine has grown powerfully, at the same time a new class of alcoholics arose - people suffering from substance abuse. Having lost their usual dose of alcohol, the population dependent on it switched to another high. Mostly we smelled various chemical reagents.

According to the confirmed medical data, people suffering from substance abuse degrade much faster than alcoholics.

Due to the proliferation of home brewing, sugar coupons were introduced. But the people quickly switched to pharmacy tinctures, antifreezes, perfumes and colognes. Meanwhile, the ruling elite, fiercely fighting against alcohol consumption, was not limited in this and eagerly consumed alcohol itself - these were alcoholic beverages of foreign production.

At that time, drunkenness was fought mercilessly and recklessly. Brochures and leaflets about the dangers of alcohol were distributed in a huge number, scenes of alcohol consumption were cut from films. And the people gradually degraded.

Positive sides

However, we must admit that there were much more positive moments in such an event. What did Gorbachev's dry law give the people?

1. There was a sharp jump in the birth rate.
2. The number of patients in psychiatric hospitals has decreased.
3. Decrease in the number of crimes committed on the basis of alcohol abuse.
4. Mortality from alcohol consumption and poisoning has fallen to almost zero.
5. For the first time in the history of the Soviet Union, there was a sharp decrease in the death rate.
6. The indicators of labor discipline have increased. Absenteeism and technical downtime decreased by 38-45%.
7. The average life expectancy for men has increased. At the time of Prohibition, it was 65-70 years old.
8. The statistics on incidents also decreased. The number of accidents at work, car accidents decreased by 30%.
9. The financial income of the people has increased. At that time, savings banks reported a sharp increase in monetary deposits from the population. Citizens brought for storage 40 million rubles more than in the previous period.

Pros and cons in comparative characteristics

Alternative opinion of opponents of the "dry law"

The Gorbachev anti-alcohol campaign had many opponents. After the full-scale research carried out, the experts gave a lot of arguments that questioned all the positive aspects of the "dry law". They sound like this:

Statistics do not reflect reality... Gorbachev created an artificial shortage of basic foods and alcohol in the country. The people managed to make up for it with moonshine, which was then brewed in almost every third family. Therefore, the data provided in the statistics are not reliable.

The increase in fertility was not actually linked to Prohibition... In fact, the belief in the near future, in the new life that perestroika promised, led to an increase in the number of women in labor. People at that time simply had a good emotional uplift and confidence that life was about to improve.

Anecdotes of the USSR during the Gorbachev dry law

Statistics do not give all the numbers... When it comes to the decline in alcoholics, the statistics said nothing about a sharp increase in the number of drug addicts. Many people have smoothly moved from scarce alcohol to more affordable and much more dangerous drugs.

The same can be said for the emphasis on reducing cardiovascular mortality. This indicator, indeed, has decreased, but another has increased - death from the use of toxic substances and drugs.

Most opponents of the anti-alcohol campaign said that Gorbachev weaned people not from drunkenness, but from drinking good and high-quality alcohol, transplanting the country into a surrogate and substance abuse.

Reasons for the termination of the anti-alcohol campaign

The main culprit in the termination of the Gorbachev event is the economy. Insidious science dealt a crushing blow to the country's budget. After all, the alcohol industry brought substantial profits to the treasury, generously filling it... No alcohol, no money for the budget.

At that time, the USSR was already firmly "sitting" on import substitution, due to the steady drop in the oil rate, the state's gold reserves were literally evaporating before our eyes. Therefore, in 1988-1989, opponents of the anti-alcohol campaign under the leadership of Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov were able to put pressure on Gorbachev, and soon the country was again filled with alcoholic beverages.

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 repeatedly - in 1929, 1958, 1972. However, the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-1987, which characterized the beginning of perestroika and the government, is considered the most famous and resonant. 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 \u200b\u200bof 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 moonshine, then all 14. For comparison: during the time of tsarist Russia or the reign of Joseph Stalin, one citizen consumed no more than 5 liters alcohol per year. The idea of \u200b\u200ban anti-alcohol campaign was supported members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee Egor Ligachev and Mikhail Solomentsev.

On May 7, 1985, a decree was adopted "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism and the eradication of home brewing." The document provided for strengthening the fight against the "green snake", as well as reducing 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 Law, many shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed in the USSR. Remaining outlets could sell alcohol only from 14:00 to 19:00 hours. 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 - they 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 Ukraine's budget.

In Russia, over five years (from 1985 to 1990) the area of \u200b\u200bvineyards 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, the dry law resulted in budget holes - if before the start of the anti-alcohol campaign about a quarter of the state treasury receipts from retail accounted for alcohol, then in 1986 the state treasury revenues from the food industry amounted to only 38 billion rubles, and in 1987 at all 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 long years active, smart anti-alcohol policy ", - quotes 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 set of measures, alcohol sales per capita decreased 2.5 times, according to 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.

In May 1985, a new massive anti-alcohol campaign begins in the Soviet Union. To eradicate drunkenness, all means were used: from promoting a healthy lifestyle to cutting down vineyards. However, the results were very contradictory, the population was dissatisfied, and soon the campaign had to be curtailed. The author of the site, Nikolai Bolshakov, recalls how this campaign took place.

New campaign

Anti-alcohol campaigns in the Soviet Union were carried out more than once. 1918, 1929, 1958, 1972 - all these years were marked by a mass struggle against drunkenness. But the most famous is the campaign initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev. Having come to power, the Secretary General understood that alcohol consumption had become massive. On average, there were ten liters of alcohol consumed per capita per year, and this had to be dealt with somehow. This was perfectly understood not only by the newly-made head of the USSR, but also by Yegor Ligachev, together with Mikhail Solomentsev, who became the ideological inspirers of this campaign. Gorbachev shared his future plans with citizens when he visited Leningrad during his first trip as secretary general in May 1985. And on May 7, the Council of Ministers issued an official resolution No. 410 "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism and the eradication of moonshine brewing". It is with this decree that the anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR begins.

Mikhail Gorbachev together with Yegor Ligachev - one of the inspirers of the campaign

Offensive on all fronts

The campaign immediately got its own slogan: "Sobriety is the norm of life." And the loudest mouthpiece of this large-scale movement was the newspaper Pravda. “It should be considered completely unacceptable to use alcoholic beverages at work, in public places, to regard such cases as immoral, antisocial behavior, using the full force of the law and public opinion against drunkards,” the editorials of this publication wrote.

Now, feast scenes were neatly cut from movies and alcohol-free weddings were welcomed. Alcohol itself could be obtained only at a strictly specific time, and this is from two to seven o'clock in the afternoon, and strictly in special stores. Penalties for appearing in drunk, it was forbidden to drink during production. And societies of sobriety and a healthy lifestyle have been organized throughout the country. In general, it was planned to gradually reduce the production of vodka by ten percent every year, and to stop producing wine products altogether by 1989. Therefore, the anti-alcohol war has caused great damage to the wine industry.

The lines to shops for liquor beat all records

Anti-alcohol campaign hits the wine industry hard

In Moldova and in Abrau-Dyurso, where wine is a traditional product of production, and in many other places, vineyards were massively cut down. According to official data, 80 thousand hectares of vineyards were destroyed in the Moldavian SSR alone.

Inconsistent results

The most active phase of the campaign was from 1985 to 1987. It will be announced that over a million deaths have been prevented through such actions. In fact, the production of alcoholic beverages was cut in half, and the production of wine products was cut by two-thirds. But all these actions to combat drunkenness had a negative impact on the population. First of all, speculation has grown sharply, the demand for sugar and other goods has increased many times, among which there was toothpaste, and cologne, and other alcohol-containing products. Every tenth worker from the sphere of trade was accused of speculation, and more than 60 thousand people were brought to responsibility for violation of the sale of alcohol.

Fights and long queues were common near the shops. Many people have switched to moonshine. There are also many drug addicts and substance abusers, both among adults and among young people. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, the use of moonshine and other intoxicating substances led to the poisoning of more than forty thousand people, of which eleven thousand died. The number of drug addicts doubled from 1985 to 1987.

During one of the anti-alcohol rallies

It was announced that the campaign saved the lives of a million people

The campaign hit not only the population, but also the Soviet budget, which was already suffering from a deficit at that time. In total, the state treasury received less than 19 billion rubles from the trade sector. And due to losses in wine production, another 6.8 billion were missing. Grievances across the country eventually forced Mikhail Gorbachev to slow down the anti-alcohol campaign. Soon, the state's monopoly on the trade in alcoholic beverages was abolished, and the fight against drunkenness gradually went nowhere. Ivan Laptev, chairman of the All-Union Society for the Struggle for a Sober Way of Life, then writes: “They did not drink less in Russia, the culture of drinking did not increase, the green serpent, lying in basements and cellars, remained best friend of the Soviet man. "

Mikhail Gorbachev was named "lemonade Joe" because of the fight against drunkenness

Mikhail Gorbachev himself will be popularly called "mineral secretary" and "lemonade Joe". Nevertheless, the campaign was highly appreciated by the international community. “It has delayed the deaths of millions of people at risk of losing their lives in accidents, alcohol poisoning or suicide, ”said one of the UN reports.

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 strong alcoholic beverages, but instead to expand production 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 stopped; trading time alcoholic beverages with a strength of 30 ° and higher 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

Currently, 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 the mark of 10.5 liters of registered alcohol by 1984, and taking into account underground moonshine brewing, 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. Ligachev, who, following Yu.V. Andropov, believed that one of the reasons for the stagnation of the Soviet economy was the general decline of moral values \u200b\u200bof the "builders of communism" and negligence to the labor of which mass alcoholism was guilty.

The execution was unprecedented in scale. For the first time, the state decided 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 in the country, a large number of stores selling alcoholic beverages were closed. Quite often the complex of anti-alcohol measures in a number of regions ended with this. So, 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 work on sobering up in Moscow was 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 folk 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, and alcohol-free weddings were promoted. The so-called "zones of sobriety" appeared, in which alcohol was not sold.

They were also involved in this task. mandatory trade unions, the entire education and health care system, all public organizations and even creative unions (unions of writers, composers, etc.).

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. Texts were removed and rephrased by censorship literary works and songs, alcoholic scenes from theatrical performances and films were cut, 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 27th 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 \u200b\u200bvineyards in Russia decreased from 200 to 168 thousand hectares, the restoration of uprooted vineyards was halved, and the establishment of new ones was not carried out at all. The average annual grape harvest has fallen 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 active conductors of the anti-alcohol campaign were the secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee Yegor Ligachev and Mikhail Solomentsev, who insisted on the destruction of the vineyards. 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 wines produced - 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 of production 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. The dissertation on the management of the wine industry states that viticulture in Russia was under threat of extinction three times, and one of these periods is “1985-1990 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 \u200b\u200bvineyards was 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 the grapes technical grades and only 2% - canteens. 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 in soviet years wine "Black Doctor". Selection work was especially severely persecuted. As a result of persecution and a series of unsuccessful attempts to convince 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 - deteriorated 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 on average by 16 billion rubles. The damage to the budget turned out to be unexpectedly great: instead of the previous 60 billion rubles of income food industry brought 38 billion in 1986 and 35 billion in 1987. Until 1985, alcohol provided about 25% of budget revenues from retail trade, due to high prices it was possible to subsidize the prices of 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 others were common. unusual things... 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.