The first Russian monopoly on alcohol was established back in 1474 by Ivan III. Strict state control over the production and sale of alcohol was introduced.
Under Ivan the Terrible, taverns, where vodka was usually served, were replaced by “tsar’s taverns,” which were farmed out to the treasury. By paying a certain amount of money, the tax farmer received the right to sell alcoholic beverages.
In 1648, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, “tavern” riots swept across Moscow and other cities. The artisans, supported by the peasants, demanded the abolition of the “farm-out” for the tavern business and distilling. But the unrest was suppressed. In 1652, the tsar convened the Zemsky Sobor, which reformed the “drinking business.” From now on, feudal lords were forbidden to keep taverns on their estates and estates, as well as to conduct wine trade, which had previously been widely practiced.
Another state monopoly was introduced in 1696 by Peter I. To increase profits, a tax farming system was again established, which was combined with the government sale of wine. The term “vodka” itself was officially established in Russia in 1751 by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the treasury began to lose control of the alcohol business, and income fell. In 1817, a decree was issued reintroducing the “state sale of drinks” at a single price - 7 rubles per bucket.
At first, this gave results and money flowed into the treasury. But gradually wine sales began to decline. As it turned out, there were many abuses in the drinking departments. In this regard, Nicholas I abolished the state wine monopoly in January 1828 and once again introduced a tax farming system. However, the arbitrariness of tax farmers, as well as widespread drunkenness, led to the fact that in 1863 the authorities were forced to replace taxation with an excise tax.
On May 14, 1885, the law “On the fragmented sale of drinks” was passed, abolishing taverns and replacing them with wine shops selling take-away alcohol in glass bottles. But sales began to fall again, and in 1893, Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte submitted to the State Council a proposal to return the monopoly on wine. It covered the purification of alcohol, as well as the trade in spirits.
From time immemorial, vodka has been considered the national alcoholic drink in Russia. There is no exact information about when and by whom this colorless water-alcohol mixture with a characteristic smell and taste was invented. Vodka is drunk cold with a variety of snacks, it quickly warms up in cold weather. Most of the stories about the appearance of the drink are based on unreliable facts and myths that need to be debunked. In addition, it is very difficult to determine when vodka appeared.
In 1270, the medieval thinker Albertus Magnus describes alcohol as “secondary raw materials.” Later, Giovanni Fidanza liquefied ammonia in nitric acid. He established in 1271 that this mixture was capable of dissolving the elements of silver, and aqua regia (aqua regia) was capable of breaking down gold.
Some alchemical treatises spread throughout Europe in 1350. On their pages there was a description of the formula aqua regia. For synthesis it was required sublimate saltpeter, a wide variety of alum, copper sulfate and ammonia in a closed glass basin.
Story
In the 10th century, in Persia, a doctor named Ar-Razion made something similar to a colorless alcoholic drink. Since in Muslim areas it is prohibited to consume alcohol-containing infusions, the invention was used in medicine or in a session of invoking spirits. Vodka becomes famous in Europe at the beginning of the 13th century, but is also used only for healing purposes.
The term “vodka” first appeared in the 14th century, but it meant berry or herbal tincture with a high degree. In 1450, this alcoholic drink was brought to Russia by Italian ambassadors. At this time, it was recommended as an antimicrobial agent and used to disinfect wounds and cuts.
On a note!
In Rus', a drink similar to today's vodka was called bread wine. It was made from wheat or rye . Legend believes that those who invented vodka, became a priest from the Chudov Monastery. It was he, possessing the appropriate knowledge, who personally compiled the first recipe for an alcoholic drink.
Under Ivan the Terrible, vodka gained great popularity and began to be used orally. Historians tell how the king, seeing the possibility of easily replenishing the treasury by selling alcohol, forcibly and cruelly instilled in the people the tradition of drinking. Vodka was bought in taverns, and home production of tinctures was completely banned. Since then, the notorious alcohol addiction has appeared, which is unusual for Russian people.
Interesting!
In ancient times in Rus', people consumed only weakly alcoholic drinks, infused with honey, herbs or roots. People also loved to sip berry wine or freshly brewed beer. Drinks were made at home and displayed on a large table during the holidays. Great sobriety was required from the people and nobles, and drunkards caught in gluttony were sent to prison for a short term, and if he did not reform, he was publicly whipped on the street.
At the end of the 19th century, temperance societies appeared in the Russian Empire, which sounded the alarm, seeing how alcohol captured not only men, but also women with children. IN THE USSR tradename"vodka" was officially (according to GOST) adopted in 1936. It was based on rectified alcohol obtained synthetically. During the Second World War, each soldier was given 100 grams before a terrible battle. A little later, the norm increased to 200 grams, but was intended only for front-line soldiers.
On a note!
In contrast to the instructions of Ivan the Terrible, the Bolsheviks, who led the country in 1917, introduced prohibition on drinking alcohol until 1924. A similar decree was issued by the last Secretary General of the Central Committee CPSU M. Gorbachev.
Chemical composition of an alcoholic drink
The main components are water and alcohol. During their synthesis, other elements are formed that can cause great harm health with uncontrolled consumption.
On a note!
There is a fairly common misconception that the famous Russian chemist-scientist D.I. Mendeleev invented vodka. In reality he was just defending dissertation entitled “On the combination of alcohol with water” and did not set out to identify the ideal elements of an alcoholic drink. He made a statement about the strength of vodka (38 degrees), which was soon rounded up to simplify cost documentation.
An interesting topic for many :). Who invented vodka? Where did she come from? How did its production begin? What kind of drink is this that all over the world consider to be “originally Russian” and cannot imagine a real Russian person without a glass of vodka on the table?
The word “vodka” first appeared in the 14th-15th centuries, but then this word was used to describe a strong infusion of berries, herbs or roots in strong alcohol. There is an opinion that a kind of vodka was first made by the Persian doctor Ar-Razion in the 10th century; they also say that vodka was invented by the Arabs, but since the consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Muslim countries, they used it to produce perfumes and as medicine.
The trade name “vodka” appeared in the USSR in 1936 with the adoption of GOST. The basis of vodka is rectified alcohol, which is produced mainly from grain or potato raw materials. But the latter is used for the production of vodka in EU countries, as well as in Belarus. In our country, vodka is produced only from grain raw materials.
Vodka appeared in Europe in the 13th century, but it was used as a medicine.
Vodka first appeared in Russia at the beginning of the 15th century. European ambassadors brought it as a gift to Vasily the Dark as a medicine needed to lubricate wounds.
Vodka became widespread later, under Ivan the Terrible. I’ll digress a little from the topic and tell you that previously in Rus' people did not drink strong alcoholic drinks, but only drank low-alcohol drinks, honey, beer, berry wine. Housewives prepared all these drinks at home and put them on the table only on major holidays.
Here is what Samuil Maskevich, a famous Polish traveler, wrote about Rus' at that time:
“The Muscovites observe great sobriety, which they strictly demand from both the nobles and the people. There is nowhere to buy either wine or beer. Others tried to hide barrels of wine by skillfully sealing them in ovens. But even there the culprits were found. The drunk is immediately taken to a “brotherhood prison”, specially set up for them, and only after a few weeks they are released from it, at the request of someone else. Anyone caught drunk a second time is again put in prison for a long time, then they are taken through the streets and mercilessly whipped until drunkenness disgusts him.” Like this.
But Ivan the Terrible began to forcibly impose the tradition of drinking vodka, acting very cruelly. Why did he do this? Thus, he wanted to replenish the treasury for the development of Siberian lands. And he considered this method the most effective. Having seen the so-called “taverns” in the Kazan he conquered, he realized what benefits they could bring if a state monopoly on vodka was introduced.
People were dragged into these taverns by force, forced to drink vodka, which, moreover, was very expensive and completely unusual for Russian people. Home production Alcoholic beverages were banned under penalty of death.
In general, sooner or later, Ivan IV achieved his goal, Rus' began to drink... and the income of the royal treasury grew...
However, the Russian people were not very keen to sell this drink. This occupation was considered shameful, the very last thing. And drunkards in Rus' have always been despised...
From the moment vodka appeared in Rus', the moral decay of the people began, and a disease such as alcohol addiction appeared. 
There are rumors that vodka was allegedly invented by D.I. Mendeleev, and this is based on the fact that his doctoral dissertation is called “On the combination of alcohol with water.” But it is known for certain that Mendeleev did not participate in the creation of vodka. Essentially his work relates to metrology.
And in 1885, temperance societies began to appear in Russia. One of these societies was headed by L.N. Tolstoy. Here's what he wrote about drunkenness:
“The contagious disease is taking over more and more people. Women, girls, and children are already drinking. It seems to both rich and poor that one cannot be cheerful except drunk or half-drunk; it seems that the best way to show one’s grief or joy is to become stupefied and, deprived of human dignity, to become like an animal...”
Interestingly, by the end of the 19th century, Russia ranked second to last in terms of the amount of alcohol consumed. More than half of our population were teetotalers. Almost all women did not drink alcohol at all.
Comparison of the amount of alcohol consumed by country, 19th century.
And much later, during the Great Patriotic War in the Red Army, soldiers participating in hostilities were given combat 100 grams daily. However, this order changed several times, and in 1942, on May 12, the People's Commissar of Defense order No. 0373 was issued. It read:
“Stop the daily issuance to all active-duty army personnel, establish a procedure and standard for the issuance of vodka.”
In accordance with the order, the daily distribution of vodka was retained only to front-line fighters who had successes in combat operations against the fascist invaders, and the norm was increased to 200 grams per person. For this purpose, vodka was allocated monthly at the disposal of the command of the fronts and individual armies in the amount of 20 percent of the number of troops of the front - army. The rest of the soldiers were entitled to 100 grams for revolutionary, social and regimental (the day the unit was formed) holidays.
By the way, this law was often used by foreign media to discredit the Russian army. There were rumors about “drunken battalions” and the like. fiction. Moreover, even in those days, alcohol consumption per capita in the USSR was much lower than in European countries.
Where did the name “vodka” come from? Opinions differ on this issue. Possibly from Polish. The Polish “Wodka” has the original meaning of “vodichka”, which is similar to the old Russian word “vodka” - “vodichka”. But there is also an opinion that “water” and “vodka” have different roots and therefore are in no way related to each other.
In Rus', the word “vodka”, also meaning “alcoholic drink”, was first mentioned in 1533. The earliest Russian document where we can find the word “vodka” is the decree of Ivan IV “On the collection of duties exported from overseas for various wines and vodkas in efimkas, and with sugar in money, according to previous decrees” dated August 4, 1683. But for a long time, vodka was called in government acts and statements “hot, simple, table wine,” “foam,” “polugar,” and “moonshine.”
But the tradition of drinking vodka was not always enforced in Rus'; sometimes alcohol was prohibited, introducing the so-called “prohibition law.” For example, in 1914 at the beginning of the First World War. And the Bolsheviks, who came to power in 1917, extended it until 1924. Or, for example, during Gorbachev’s reign a “prohibition law” was also adopted. There were even so-called “sober Komsomol” weddings, where there was supposedly no alcohol. In fact, there was alcohol on the tables, but not in bottles, but in samovars, teapots, in general, our people are resourceful. What about the famous vodka coupons?
And in 1936, GOST was adopted, according to which the pure alcohol mixture was called “vodka”. “Vodka” and “special vodka” appeared. The former are a purely water-alcohol mixture, while the latter have minor flavored additives.
And finally, in some Russian cities there are vodka museums. For example, in Uglich, where the “Municipal Museum of the History of Russian Vodka” opened in 1998. It is known that the Uglich land is the birthplace of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov, the vodka king, the founder of the P.A. Smirnov Trading House in Moscow in 1860, a supplier to the Supreme Court since 1866.
Its own vodka museum opened in Smolensk in 2003. There are “vodka museums” in Tyumen, Moscow and Amsterdam.
Fun fact: the most expensive vodka in the world is Diva, produced in Scotland. Its price ranges from 4,000 thousand to 1 million dollars per bottle and depends on the decorations on the bottle.
I also suggest watching an interesting video about the history of vodka and drunkenness in Rus':
Don't forget to share in the comments what you think about this problem.
The first Russian monopoly on alcohol was established back in 1474 by Ivan III. Strict state control over the production and sale of alcohol was introduced.
Under Ivan the Terrible, taverns, where vodka was usually served, were replaced by “tsar’s taverns,” which were farmed out to the treasury. By paying a certain amount of money, the tax farmer received the right to sell alcoholic beverages.
In 1648, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, “tavern” riots swept across Moscow and other cities. The artisans, supported by the peasants, demanded the abolition of the “farm-out” for the tavern business and distilling. But the unrest was suppressed. In 1652, the tsar convened the Zemsky Sobor, which reformed the “drinking business.” From now on, feudal lords were forbidden to keep taverns on their estates and estates, as well as to conduct wine trade, which had previously been widely practiced.
Another state monopoly was introduced in 1696 by Peter I. To increase profits, a tax farming system was again established, which was combined with the government sale of wine. The term “vodka” itself was officially established in Russia in 1751 by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the treasury began to lose control of the alcohol business, and income fell. In 1817, a decree was issued reintroducing the “state sale of drinks” at a single price - 7 rubles per bucket.
At first, this gave results and money flowed into the treasury. But gradually wine sales began to decline. As it turned out, there were many abuses in the drinking departments. In this regard, Nicholas I abolished the state wine monopoly in January 1828 and once again introduced a tax farming system. However, the arbitrariness of tax farmers, as well as widespread drunkenness, led to the fact that in 1863 the authorities were forced to replace taxation with an excise tax.
On May 14, 1885, the law “On the fragmented sale of drinks” was passed, abolishing taverns and replacing them with wine shops selling take-away alcohol in glass bottles. But sales began to fall again, and in 1893, Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte submitted to the State Council a proposal to return the monopoly on wine. It covered the purification of alcohol, as well as the trade in spirits.
Hello dear readers of my blog! After the last holiday, I thought: why was vodka invented, and who invented alcohol? It turned out that alcoholic drinks have been known since the Middle Ages.
They were first obtained by alchemists in experiments on the invention of the philosopher's stone; they derived the formula of a new substance, having tried it, they endowed it with miraculous properties and called it living water.
The ideal percentage ratio of 40% alcohol and 60% water was created by the famous Russian chemist-inventor Dmitry Mendeleev. Now let's take a closer look at the history of the creation of the most famous alcoholic drink.
What led to the emergence of alcoholic drinks
It is possible to obtain alcohol from any fermentation products. The body also produces alcohols after consumption fermented milk products or fruit.
Of course, the human body cannot be reproduced, but it became possible to obtain alcohol under artificial conditions only after the invention of a device that could ensure the distillation of fermented products. It is based on evaporation with further condensation of vapors into an alcohol solution (distillation process).
Information about the discoverers is contradictory. From some sources it is known that distillation of mash was discovered in Central Asia Arabs. This discovery dates back to before the tenth century.
Others believe, quite reasonably, that the alchemists of the Middle Ages, trying to find the philosopher's stone, easily invented the distillation process, which was later called distillation.
Who came up with the name
The first information about alcohol dates back to the Middle Ages. The name comes from the Latin word spiritus, which means soul. The discovery of alcohol is associated with the distillation of wine, which was used for alchemy. Wine was made long before strong drinks were made.
The name “vodka” was first coined in Moscow at the end of the nineteenth century. Before this, the drink obtained from wine was called boiled, bitter or bread wine.
Who opened the first tavern in Moscow
In the fifteenth century production bread wine monopolized by John the Third. And already Ivan the Terrible opened the first drinking establishment - “Tsarev Tavern”. The menu included only a few types of vodka. No snacks were sold, which led to intoxication very quickly. From this time on, the statistics of robberies, injuries and corruption due to drunkenness begin to count.
Since 1649, the fight against drunkenness began in Russia. A royal decree is created that increases the price of vodka many times over and regulates the sale of only one glass (143.5 grams) per person. The law had no force in society.
Catherine's reform
Taking care of the treasury during the Northern War, Peter the Great introduced a tax on the production and sale of vodka. Already Catherine the Second exempted producers of alcoholic beverages from taxes, but vodka had to be produced using a special method and only by the upper class. The rest of society could only buy it.
From now on, vodka, after distillation, was purified with coagulants. Proteins, usually milk or egg, were used as cleansers. The essence of the method: when the protein gets into alcohol, it begins to coagulate along with the fusel oils it contains.
The resulting mixture precipitated, which constituted a significant part of the product. For six liters of purified vodka there is a liter of milk or half a liter of egg whites.
Then they came up with the idea of adding special flavors to the vodka. At that time, these were natural supplements from anise, lemon, pepper, mint, dill and others.
The name corresponded to the added products: Anise, Lemon, Horseradish, Dill. The rich classes had the entire list of products: from A to Z. Cocktails from various types vodka.
The “half a liter” measure was also invented in Rus'. Its predecessor is shtof (1.23 l). There was an exact measure of weight: the mass of a bucket of vodka was 30 pounds. This eliminated adulteration because water is heavier than alcohol, which increases the overall weight.
The emergence of strong alcohol in Europe
In 1881, vodka became one of the main exported products of Russia. It was first presented in France, where it was enjoyed by the most sophisticated society. Ten years later, Nicholas the First abolished the state monopoly of alcoholic beverages in Russia.
This led to the enrichment of a certain circle of people. Since 1851, a tax-excise system has been introduced. The state produces alcohol and sells it to farmers. Then the excise system was introduced.
The inaccessibility of quality goods to the lower strata led to the invention of production from low-quality potato raw materials. This caused an increase in alcoholism and affected the health of the nation, which reduced income and led to fraud.
Since 1881, the state began to develop measures to combat drunkenness:
- It was allowed to sell vodka in small portions (previously, “to-go” the drink was poured into buckets, because bottles were not produced in Rus').
- They were required to sell alcoholic beverages in establishments where snack food was prepared (taverns).
Subsequently, high-quality rye vodka was produced for export, while in Russia they were content with a cheap potato substitute.
Mendeleev "cheated"
In order to improve the quality of the domestic product, in 1894 the production of vodka was transferred to state enterprises. There was a program created, designed for several years, and a commission headed by the famous chemist Mendeleev. The tasks were set:
- Develop technologies for deep cleaning of the product;
- Promote the culture of proper consumption of vodka;
- Improve conditions in public catering establishments.
In general, the measures should have led to the elimination of moonshine and reduced the harmful consequences.
Special achievements in development quality drink belong to Mendeleev. He studied the reactions that occur when vodka is combined with water. It has been proven for the first time that mixing vodka with water causes a decrease in volume.
Therefore, the higher the degree, the smaller the volume. For example, when mixing alcohol with equal amount water, the volume will be less than usual. Mendeleev invented a formula for mixing vodka with water based on the mass of substances.
He proved that for an ideal ratio, there should be three H2O per molecule of alcohol. The greatest compression is obtained with a ratio of 45.88% alcohol to 54.12% water. This gives a 40 degree drink, which can only be obtained by measuring ingredients by volume.
Liter weight quality vodka is 953 grams. An increase in weight leads to a decrease in strength and vice versa. The standard for quality vodka was patented in Russia in 1894, its name is “Moscow Special”.
The measures taken led to the streamlining of trade (it was carried out strictly regulated by time), filling the budget and reducing drunkenness.
This is how they produced vodka, which is known in the modern world. The history of its creation is long and tragic, intertwined with immense enrichment and poverty. Use this product for health benefits. Subscribe to my blog, leave reviews, and share recipes for strong, healthy drinks.
All the best!
