The fight against drunkenness - how in the USSR they fought against drunkenness. Anti-alcohol campaigns in the USSR

They tried to fight Russians' addiction 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 most famous and resonant is the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-1987, which characterized the beginning of perestroika and the government Mikhail Gorbachev.

Drunkenness fight

On the need for another anti-alcohol campaign spoke first General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yuri Andropov. According to the Soviet leader, due to the decline in the moral values ​​of citizens addicted to alcohol, 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 moonshining is taken into account, 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 ​​holding an anti-alcohol campaign was supported by members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU Egor Ligachev and Mikhail Solomentsev.

On May 7, 1985, a resolution “On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism and to eradicate moonshine” was adopted. 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 stores 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, the eradication of moonshine" came into force. This document 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, 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 kettles on, poured cognac into them. And all the guests drank tea, washed down with lemonade. Why did you have to hide? And because everyone was a member of the party, they could kick them out just at once if they saw cognac 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 proportion of budget revenues are income from alcohol. It seems that the Soviet authorities sincerely wanted to "cure" citizens of drunkenness, since they turned a blind eye to the treasury's income from alcohol. As part of the implementation of Prohibition in the USSR, many shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed. The remaining outlets could sell alcohol only from 14:00 to 19:00. In addition, the cheapest bottle of vodka in 1986 went up to 9.1 rubles (the average salary then was 196 rubles). Drinkers were forbidden to drink alcohol on the 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 party members were expelled from the party.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the USSR did not think of giving up the consumption of alcoholic beverages, they simply 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 laying of new vineyards and the care of existing plantings. In addition, cutting down vineyards was widely practiced on the territory of the Soviet republics. For example, out of 210,000 hectares of vineyards located in Moldova, 80,000 were destroyed. In Ukraine, 60,000 hectares of vineyards have been cut down. According to the ex-secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Republic, Yakov Pogrebnyak, income from vineyards accounted for a fifth of the budget of Ukraine.

In Russia, over five years (from 1985 to 1990), the area of ​​vineyards decreased from 200 to 168 hectares, and the average annual harvest of berries almost halved - from 850,000 tons to 430,000 tons.

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

Alcohol "revenge" the budget

As a result, Prohibition resulted in budget holes - if before the start of the anti-alcohol campaign about a quarter of state treasury revenues came 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 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 give up the fight against drunkenness.

The anti-alcohol campaign of the 80s is called the most serious mistake of the perestroika period. The fallacy of this idea was recognized even by its initiator Yegor Ligachev. “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, many years of active, smart anti-alcohol policy are needed, ”Ligachev quotes Evgeny Dodolev in 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 by 2.5 times, according to the State Statistics Service. At the same time, life expectancy has increased, the birth rate has increased and the death rate has decreased. According to statistics, during the period of the anti-alcohol campaign, 500 thousand more children were born than in recent decades, there were 8% fewer weakened newborns. Moreover, during the Prohibition period, life expectancy among men increased by 2.6 years, which was the maximum in the history of Russia.

The course of events in the USSR

Before Gorbachev

At present, the most famous is the anti-alcohol campaign in the period 1985-1987, before and at the very beginning of Perestroika (the so-called "acceleration"). However, the fight against drunkenness was also carried out under Gorbachev's predecessors (nevertheless, alcohol consumption in the USSR grew steadily).

In 1958, the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Soviet Government "On intensifying the fight against drunkenness and on restoring order in the trade in strong alcoholic beverages" was adopted. It was forbidden to sell vodka in all public catering establishments (except restaurants) located at railway stations, airports, railway stations and near-station areas. It was not allowed to sell vodka in the immediate vicinity of industrial enterprises, educational institutions, children's institutions, hospitals, sanatoriums, in places of mass celebrations and recreation.

The next anti-alcohol campaign began in 1972. On May 16, Decree No. 361 “On measures to strengthen the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism” was published. Planned to cut production strong drinks, but instead expand production grape wine, beer and without alcoholic beverages. The prices of liquor were also raised; the production of vodka with a strength of 50 and 56 ° was discontinued; the time of trade in 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 sent forcibly; scenes with the use of alcoholic drinks were cut from the films.

1985 campaign

On May 7, 1985, the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU (“On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism”) and the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR N 410 (“On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of home-brewing”) were adopted, which were prescribed to all party, administrative and law enforcement agencies decisively and to intensify the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism everywhere, with a significant reduction in the production of alcoholic beverages, the number of places for their sale and the time of sale. On May 16, 1985, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On intensifying the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, eradicating home-brewing” was issued, which reinforced this struggle with administrative and criminal penalties. Corresponding Decrees were adopted simultaneously in all Union republics. This task was also involved in without fail trade unions, the entire education and health system, all public organizations and even creative unions (unions of writers, composers, etc.). The execution was unprecedented in scale. The state for the first time went to reduce revenues from alcohol, which were a significant item in the state budget, and began to sharply reduce its production.

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

“Ligachev demanded the destruction of vineyards as the fundamental basis of production alcoholic products"(V. S. Makarenko).

After the start of the fight against alcoholism in the country, it was closed a large number of stores selling alcoholic beverages. Quite often on it the complex of anti-alcohol actions in a number of regions came to an end. Thus, the First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU, Viktor Grishin, closed many alcohol stores and reported to the Central Committee that the work on sobering up in Moscow had been completed.

Shops that sold alcohol could only do so from 2 pm to 7 pm. In connection with this, there was a saying:

At six in the morning the rooster sings, at eight - Pugacheva, the store is closed until two, the key is with Gorbachev

For a week, until the second, we will bury Gorbachev. We will dig up Brezhnev, we will drink as before.

Strict measures were taken against drinking alcohol in parks and squares, as well as on long-distance trains. Those caught drunk had serious trouble at work. Dissertation defense banquets were banned, and alcohol-free weddings were promoted.

The campaign was accompanied by intense sobriety propaganda. Articles by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR F. G. Uglov began to spread everywhere about the dangers and inadmissibility of alcohol consumption under any circumstances and that drunkenness is not characteristic of the Russian people. Alcoholic scenes were cut from the films, and the action movie Lemonade Joe was shown on the screen. As a result, the nicknames "Lemonade Joe" and "mineral secretary" were firmly entrenched in M. S. Gorbachev.

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

Cutting down vineyards

Many publications criticizing the anti-alcohol campaign say that many vineyards were cut down at this time. Most of the vineyards in Georgia and southern Russia were cut down.

The biggest loss was that unique collectible grape varieties were destroyed. For example, the Ekim-Kara grape variety, a component of the famous Black Doctor wine in the Soviet years, was completely destroyed. Selection work was subjected to especially severe persecution. As a result of harassment and a number of unsuccessful attempts to convince Mikhail Gorbachev to cancel the destruction of vineyards, one of the leading plant breeders, director Professor Pavel Golodriga, committed suicide.

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, 2 billion rubles and 5 years were needed to restore the losses of the destroyed 265 thousand vineyards.

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. Active promoters of the anti-alcohol campaign were the secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yegor Ligachev and Mikhail Solomentsev, who insisted on the destruction of the vineyards. During a vacation in the Crimea, Yegor Kuzmich was taken to Massandra. There, for all 150 years of the existence of the famous factory, samples of produced wines are stored - the vinotheque. All famous wineries in the world have similar storages. But Ligachev said: “This wine cellar must be destroyed, and Massandra must be closed!” Vladimir Shcherbitsky could not stand it and called Gorbachev directly, they say, this is already an excess, and not a fight against drunkenness. Mikhail Sergeevich said: "Well, save it."

Mikhail Gorbachev claims that he did not insist on the destruction of the vineyards: "The fact that the vine was cut down, these were steps against me."

results

During the years of the anti-alcohol campaign, officially registered per capita sales of alcohol in the country have decreased by more than 2.5 times. In 1985-1987, a decrease in the state sale 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 regulation, 5.5 million newborns were born per year, 500 thousand more per year than every year for the previous 20-30 years, and 8% less were born weakened. The life expectancy of men increased by 2.6 years and reached the maximum value in the entire history of Russia, the overall crime rate decreased. The reduction in mortality compared to the predicted regression line, excluding the campaign, is 919.9 thousand for men (1985-1992) and 463.6 thousand for women (1986-1992) - a total of 1383.4 thousand people or 181±16.5 thousand a year.

At the same time, the real decrease in alcohol consumption was less significant, mainly due to the development of home brewing, as well as illegal production of alcoholic beverages at state-owned enterprises. The strengthening of home brewing led to a shortage in the retail sale of raw materials for moonshine - sugar, and then cheap sweets. The shadow market of artisanal alcohol, which existed before, received significant development during these years - vodka added to the list of goods that needed to be “gotten”. Despite the decrease in the total number of alcohol poisonings, the number of poisonings with alcohol-containing surrogates and non-alcoholic intoxicants has increased (for example, the practice of adding dichlorvos to beer in order to increase intoxication has become widespread), and the number of drug addicts has also increased. However, the increase in the consumption of "illegal" alcohol did not compensate for the fall in the consumption of "legal" alcohol, as a result of which a real decrease in the total alcohol consumption was still observed, which explains the beneficial effects (decrease in mortality and crime, increase in the birth rate and life expectancy). ), which 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 people 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 large: instead of the previous 60 billion rubles of income 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 curtail 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 an interview: "Because of the mistakes made, a good big deal ended ingloriously."

On March 11, 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev took over as Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU and became the last head of the then still great 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 set a course for the active acceleration of the socio-economic development of the state and set about implementing the anti-alcohol program, which they began to jointly prepare in the Central Committee under Brezhnev. However, Leonid Ilyich himself did not consider it a priority and did not support it.

It must be admitted that Gorbachev had the best of intentions. In an interview, he said that the situation with mass drunkenness had reached a critical point by that time. Almost half of the adult male population has crossed the line of alcoholism, and women have become addicted to a glass. Drunkenness at work, a large number of accidents, children abandoned by alcoholic parents to their fate - all these problems required an immediate solution. And then Mikhail Sergeevich decided to fight the situation radically, as they say, slashed 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 has rapidly begun to gain momentum.

The main ways of implementation, tangible for the population:

● increase in prices for alcohol by 2 or more times;
● a general decrease in the number of liquor outlets;
● limited time of sale (exclusively from 14.00 to 19.00);
● tougher penalties for drinking alcohol in public places (including city parks, railway trains).

The campaign was launched in a big way. A healthy lifestyle, alcohol-free weddings, anniversaries and other festive events were promoted everywhere. Non-alcoholic champagne appeared on sale, which was offered to replace the real one. But the excesses did not end there either, it was just the harmless tip of the "non-alcoholic" iceberg.

Consequences of the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-1990

The people were not ready, by order of the Central Committee, to give up their addiction and stop drinking. Simultaneously with the beginning of Gorbachev's non-alcoholic campaign, the development of the Soviet era of moonshine, underground trade in alcohol and speculation in liquor began. Moonshine and vodka from under the floor were traded by enterprising citizens and taxi drivers. The main "raw materials" for moonshine brewing disappeared from the stores - sugar, which soon began to be sold on coupons, and long queues lined up in the liquor departments.

The use of a dubious alcohol surrogate led to massive outbreaks of poisoning. They drank industrial alcohol, cologne, denatured alcohol and other dangerous substances containing degrees. Drug traffickers tried to partially fill 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 - this 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 collectible grape varieties were completely exterminated, and selection work was prohibited. The persecution of talented breeders began, who devoted their whole lives to this.

And anti-alcohol shock therapy also caused serious damage to the country's economy, 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 joyfully reported about an increase in the birth rate, a decrease in crime and an increase in life expectancy. However, in reality it did not look quite like that. It was in those years that the real rampant criminality began, so it would be more correct to call the data on the reduction of crime wishful thinking. And historians and political scientists are more inclined to associate the growth in the birth rate and the increase in life expectancy with the fact that people were promised a beautiful life and they believed the slogans and perked up.

Summing up

The anti-alcohol campaign in any country of the world did not give the expected results. It is necessary to fight against drunkenness not by prohibitions, but by raising the standard of living.

People who, at a conscious age, caught the end of the 80s, remember perfectly well what dry law was in the USSR 1985-1991. This period is also called "Gorbachev's dry law." Such a term implied a complete (and somewhere partial) ban on the sale of alcohol-containing 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 not something new. But it was she who was remembered by the citizens of the USSR because of its duration. But was the effectiveness of such a taboo? Was the game worth the candle?

Prohibition Gorbachev became the most memorable among a series of similar experiments

There is one wise folk proverb that advises "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 the laws of the economy went through a thorny path of trial and error, the leaders of our country of that time decided not to study the sad experience of other countries.

Prohibition is such a measure that is not able to eliminate all the causes of harmful alcohol addiction. 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 absolute sobriety of all citizens. Few people know that Gorbachev was not the first general secretary who introduced prohibition in the USSR. With anti-alcohol campaigns citizens Soviet Union encountered before 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 backdrop of hostilities (World War I), crime due to intoxication increased sharply. This step also contributed to savings on food costs.

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

And then came the revolution. The Bolsheviks, carried away by the construction of a new state, were in no hurry to "enrich" the counters of shops and trade shops with alcohol. It wasn't before. 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 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 that only the struggle against drunkenness under the regime of the last leader of the Land of Soviets is so vividly etched in my memory? In those sad years, life in the USSR took place under the auspices of a widespread shortage of goods. The introduced ban on alcohol only exacerbated the already not rosy psychological state of our citizens.. However, such an event had a number of good reasons-grounds.

Background of the Prohibition Organization

Alcohol at that time was perhaps the only way to forget and relax for the population of the USSR. One of the main roles was played by the fact of 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 staggering: between 1960 and 1980, deaths from alcohol abuse quadrupled.

For every citizen of the USSR in 1984, there were 25-30 liters of pure alcohol (even including babies). While in the country of the pre-revolutionary period, this figure was 3-4 liters.

How did the "dry period" begin?

Another 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 ascensions 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 Politburo of the Central Committee:

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

They, like Andropov, were deeply convinced that the causes of 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, moral values ​​and negligence in work.

Promotion of a sober lifestyle in the USSR has acquired grandiose proportions

Gorbachev's dry law was truly gigantic. For the sake of combating general public drunkenness, 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 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-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 catering establishments, with the exception of restaurants.
4. Prevention of trade in alcohol near educational institutions of all types, hospitals, health resorts, industrial facilities and places of recreation.
5. The time period for the sale of alcohol also fell under the restriction. Alcohol was now available only from two in the afternoon until seven in the evening.
6. Alcoholic products were allowed to be sold only 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 completely stop the production of wines. Leading members of the CP and heads of enterprises were strictly forbidden to drink alcohol up to their expulsion from the Communist Party.

What did this law achieve?

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

Negative points

Over all the expanses of a vast country, almost instantly and unexpectedly for citizens, more than 2/3 of the shops selling alcohol ceased to exist. Alcohol was now available for purchase between 14:00 and 19:00. The most famous vineyards of Moldova, the Caucasus and the Crimea were destroyed.

What Prohibition Opponents Are Saying

One of the main and sad losses from Prohibition was the irretrievable loss of unique grape wine varieties, the oblivion of ancient traditions in the production of exclusive collection wines.

But on the emerging deficit there will always be enterprising citizens who want to earn extra money. Cunning "businessmen" were instantly formed in times of alcohol shortage. Such merchants at that time were known as "speculators, hucksters."

But, because of the existing Iron Curtain, the borders of the USSR were tightly covered, 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 goof off.

In some regions, vodka began to be sold on coupons

Moonshine brewing grew 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 buzz. Mostly sniffed various chemical reagents.

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

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

Drunkenness at that time was fought mercilessly and recklessly. Brochures and leaflets about the dangers of alcohol were distributed in huge quantities, scenes of alcohol consumption were cut out from movies. And the people slowly degraded.

Positive sides

However, it is worth recognizing 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. Reducing the number of crimes committed on the basis of alcohol abuse.
4. Almost to zero mark the death rate from alcohol consumption and poisoning has fallen.
5. For the first time in the history of the Soviet Union, there was a sharp decrease in the death rate.
6. Increased indicators of labor discipline. Absenteeism and technical downtime decreased by 38-45%.
7. rose average duration life in men. During Prohibition, it was 65-70 years.
8. Decreased statistics and incidents. 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 noted a sharp increase in cash deposits from the population. Citizens brought for storage 40 million rubles more than in the previous period.

Pros and cons in comparison

Alternative opinion of the opponents of the "prohibition"

Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign had many opponents. After a full-scale study, the experts cited a lot of arguments that called into question all the positive aspects of the Prohibition. They sound like this:

Statistics don't reflect reality. Gorbachev created an artificial shortage of basic foodstuffs 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 given in the statistics are not reliable.

The increase in the birth rate was not really due to the "prohibition". In fact, faith in the near future, in the new life that perestroika promised, led to an increase in the number of women in childbirth. People at that time simply had a good emotional upsurge and confidence that life was about to improve.

Anecdotes of the USSR during the Gorbachev Prohibition

Statistics do not give all the numbers. Speaking about the decrease in alcoholics, the statistics did not say anything about a sharp increase in the number of drug addicts. Many people smoothly moved from scarce alcohol to more affordable and much more dangerous drugs.

The same can be said about the emphasis on reducing mortality from cardiovascular problems. This indicator, indeed, has decreased, but another has increased - death from the use of toxic substances, 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 stopping the anti-alcohol campaign

The main culprit for 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 a solid profit to the treasury, generously filling it with. No alcohol - no money for the budget.

The USSR at that time was already firmly “sitting” on import substitution, due to the steady fall in the price of oil, the gold reserves of the state literally evaporated before our eyes. Therefore, in 1988-1989, opponents of the anti-alcohol campaign led by Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov were able to put pressure on Gorbachev, and soon the country was again filled with alcoholic beverages.

Anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR 1985-1987— a set of government measures to reduce alcohol consumption among the population under the general slogan "Drunkenness - fight!". In the Soviet Union, attempts to combat drunkenness were made more than once. Currently, the most popular anti-alcohol campaign in the period 1985-1987. Before and at the very beginning of Perestroika. However, the fight against drunkenness was also carried out under Gorbachev's predecessors (however, alcohol consumption in the USSR was steadily growing).

The fight against alcoholism

In 1985, a resolution was adopted by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Soviet government "On intensifying the fight against drunkenness and on restoring order in the trade in strong alcoholic beverages." It was forbidden to sell vodka in all public catering establishments (except restaurants) located at railway stations, airports, railway stations and near-station areas. Li allowed the sale of vodka in the immediate vicinity of industrial enterprises, educational institutions, children's institutions, hospitals, sanatoriums, in places of mass walks and recreation. May 16, 1972 Decree No. 361 was published On measures to strengthen the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism. It was supposed to reduce the production of strong drinks, but in return to expand the production of grape wine, beer and soft drinks. The prices of liquor were also raised; discontinued production of 50 and 56° vodka; the time of trade in alcoholic beverages with a strength of 30 ° and above was limited to the interval from 11 to 19 hours; medical and labor dispensaries were created, where people were sent forcibly; scenes with the use of alcoholic drinks were cut from the films.

May 7, 1985 Decree of the Central Committee was adopted CPSU "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism" and Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 410 "On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of moonshine." According to these documents, all party, administrative and law enforcement agencies were instructed to resolutely and everywhere intensify the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, and a significant reduction in the production of alcoholic beverages, the number of places and the time of their sale was envisaged.

May 16, 1985 Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On strengthening the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of moonshine", which reinforced this struggle with administrative and criminal penalties. Corresponding decrees were adopted simultaneously in all Union republics. Trade unions, the entire system of education and health care, all public organizations and even creative unions (writers, composers, etc.) were also necessarily drawn into the fulfillment of this task. The execution was unprecedented in scale. The state for the first time went to reduce income from alcohol, which was a significant item in the state budget, and began to sharply reduce its production. At that time, many vineyards were cut down.

The initiators of the campaign were members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU M.S. Solomentsev and E.K. Ligachov, who, following Yuri Andropov, believed that one of the reasons for the stagnation of the Soviet economy was the general decline in the moral and ethical values ​​of the “builders of communism” and the negligent attitude to work, in which mass alcoholism was "guilty".

After the start of the fight against drunkenness in the country, a large number of shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed. Quite often on it the complex of anti-alcohol actions in many regions came to an end. So, the 1st secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU, Viktor Grishin, closed many alcohol stores and reported to the Central Committee that the work on sobering up in Moscow had been completed.

Shops that sold alcohol could only work from 14.00 to 19.00. Therefore, there were such sayings:

"At six in the morning the rooster crows, at eight - Pugacheva, the store is closed until two, the key is in Gorbachev." "For a week, until the second," they will bury Gorbachev. We will dig out Brezhnev - we will drink as before.

The campaign was accompanied by intense sobriety propaganda. Articles of Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR F.G. Uglov began to spread everywhere about the dangers and inadmissibility of alcohol consumption under any circumstances and that drunkenness is not characteristic of the Russian people. Alcoholic scenes were cut from films, and the film "Lemonade Joe" was shown on the screen again (after a 20-year break) (because of M. Gorbachev, he also received such a nickname - next to the nickname "mineral secretary").

Strict measures were taken against drinking alcohol in parks and squares, as well as on long-distance trains. Drunk detainees had serious troubles at work. Banquets associated with the defense of dissertations were banned, and alcohol-free weddings were promoted. Strict requirements for the rejection of alcohol began to be imposed on members of the CPSU.

Campaign Results

During the years of the anti-alcohol campaign, the officially registered per capita sales of alcohol in the country decreased by more than 2.5 times. V 1985-1987 the decrease in the state sale of alcohol was accompanied by an increase in life expectancy and the birth rate, and a decrease in mortality. During the period of the anti-alcohol decree in the USSR, 5,500,000 newborns were born per year (500,000 more per year than every year for the previous 20-30 years), and 8% fewer were born weakened. The life expectancy of men increased by 2.6 years, and the overall crime rate decreased. The reduction in mortality compared to the predicted regression line, excluding the campaign, is 919.9 thousand for men (1985-1992) and 463.6 thousand for women (1986-1992) - a total of 1383.4 thousand people or 181 ± 16,500 per year .

At the same time, the real decrease in alcohol consumption was less significant, mainly due to the development of moonshining, as well as illegal production of alcohol at state-owned enterprises. Increasing moonshine production led to a shortage in the retail sale of raw materials for the manufacture of moonshine - sugar, and then - cheap sweets, tomato paste, peas, cereals, etc., which led to an increase in social discontent. The cash and, moreover, the shadow market of artisanal alcohol received significant development during these years - vodka added to the list of goods that needed to be “gotten”. Alcohol speculation reached unimaginable proportions (speculators received 100-200% profit per day). Despite the decrease in the total number of alcohol poisonings, the number of poisonings with alcohol-containing surrogates and non-alcoholic intoxicating substances, as well as the number of drug addicts, has increased. However, the growth in the consumption of "illegal" alcohol did not compensate for the fall in the consumption of "legal" alcohol, as a result of which a real reduction in total alcohol consumption was observed, which explains the positive consequences of the anti-alcohol campaign.

But the anti-alcohol campaign, aimed at the "moral recovery" of Soviet society, finally achieved the opposite results. In the mass consciousness, it was perceived as an absurd initiative of the authorities, directed against the "common people". For people widely involved in the shadow economy, and the party and economic elite, alcohol continued to be available, and ordinary consumers had problems with this.

The decrease in the sale of alcohol caused serious damage to the Soviet budget system, because the annual retail trade turnover fell by an average of 16 billion rubles. Losses for the budget turned out to be unexpectedly large: instead of the previous 60000000000 rubles of income, the food industry gave 38000 million in 1986 and 35000000000 in 1987. By 1985 alcohol gave approx. 25% of budget revenues from retail trade, due to high prices for it, it was possible to subsidize the prices of bread, milk, sugar and other products. The damage from the reduction in the sale of liquor was not compensated, by the end of 1986 the budget had actually fallen.

Mass dissatisfaction with the campaign and the economic crisis that began in the USSR in 1987 forced the Soviet leadership to curtail the fight against the production and consumption of alcohol.

However, within two years, unique collectible grape varieties were destroyed. Vineyards were cut down in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova.

V Moldova 80 thousand hectares of vineyards were destroyed from 210,000 hectares.

By 1985-1990, the area of ​​vineyards in RSFSR decreased from 200 to 168 thousand hectares, the restoration of uprooted vineyards was halved, and the laying of new ones was not carried out at all. The average annual grape harvest fell compared to the period 1981-1985 from 850 thousand to 430 thousand tons.

Former secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Y. Pogrebnyak, who supervised the implementation of the resolution 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, recalls:

The trouble is that during the struggle for sobriety, Ukraine lost about a fifth of its budget, 60,000 hectares of vineyards were uprooted in the republic, and the famous Massandra winery was saved from destruction only by the intervention of Vladimir Shcherbitsky and the first secretary of the Crimean Regional Party Committee Makarenko. Active promoters of the anti-alcohol campaign were the secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yegor Ligachev and Mikhail Solomentsev, who insisted on the destruction of the vineyards. During a vacation in the Crimea, Yegor Kuzmich was taken to Massandra. There, for all 150 years of the existence of the famous factory, samples of produced wines are stored - the vinotheque. All famous wineries in the world have similar storages. But Ligachev said: “This wine collection must be destroyed, and Massandra must be closed.” Vladimir Shcherbitsky could not stand it and called Gorbachev directly, saying that this is already an excess, and not a fight against drunkenness. Mikhail Sergeevich said: "Well, save it."

According to some reports, 30% of the vineyards were destroyed, compared with 22% during the Second World 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 losses from the destruction of 265 thousand hectares of vineyards.

Mikhail Gorbachev claims that he did not insist on the destruction of the vineyards: "The fact that the vine was cut down, these were steps against me."

The greatest loss was that the unique collectible grape varieties were destroyed (for example, the unique variety "Ekim-Kara", from which the Black Doctor wine was made), the decline of selection work. As a result of persecution and a number of unsuccessful attempts to convince Mikhail Gorbachev to cancel the destruction of vineyards, the leading scientist-breeder, director of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Winemaking and Viticulture "Magarach", Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Pavel Golodriga, committed suicide. The relations of the USSR with Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, where most of the wine was produced for export to the USSR, became drastically complicated. "Vneshtorg" refused to buy wine in these countries, offering to compensate for the lost profits with other goods.

Mass dissatisfaction with the campaign and the economic crisis that began in 1987 in the USSR forced the Soviet leadership to curtail 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 an interview: "Through mistakes made, a good big thing ended ingloriously."