Prohibition in Russian Empire and Soviet Union
- Prohibition in Russian Empire and Soviet Union
Prohibition in Russian Empire and Soviet Union existed during 1914-1925. The Russian term is "сухой закон" ("sukhoy zakon", literally "dry law").
Imperial Russia
The variant of the prohibition introduced in Russian Empire in 1914 permitted the sale of hard liquors only in restaurants. It was introduced at the beginning of the World War I. Other warring countries, e.g., United Kingdom, France, and Germany imposed certain restrictions on alcoholic beverages, but only Russia completely stopped the retail sale of vodka. [ I.N. Vvedensky, [http://www.tvereza.info/downloads/literature/forcedabstinenceexperience_ru.html#fae-results An Experience in Enforced Abstinence] (1915), Moscow (Введенский И. Н. Опыт принудительной трезвости. М.: Издание Московского Столичного Попечительства о Народной Трезвости, 1915.) ru icon]
It continued through the turmoil of Russian Revolution of 1917 and Russian Civil War into the period of Soviet Russia and Soviet Union until 1925.
Gorbachev prohibition campaign
During 1985-1987 Mikhail Gorbachev carried out an anti-alcohol campaign with partial prohibition, [Decree of the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium "On the Increased Struggle against Hard Drinking and Alcoholism", May 16, 1985 (Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «Об усилении борьбы с пьянством и алкоголизмом»)] colloquially known as the "dry law". Prices of vodka, wine and beer were raised, and their sales were restricted in amount and time of day. People who were caught drunk at work or in public were prosecuted. Drinking on long-distance trains and in public places was banned. Many famous wineries were destroyed and plantations of grapes uprooted, often of precious cultivars. Scenes of alcohol consumption were cut out from the movies.
The reform did not have any significant effect on alcoholism in the country, but economically it was a serious blow to the state budget (a loss of approximately 100 billion rubles according to Alexander Yakovlev) after alcohol production migrated to the black market economy. Coupled with inflation of the Soviet rouble, these restrictions had a curious economical side effect: a bottle of vodka had become a kind of "hard currency". For example, a handyman would replace a window for a certain, fixed, number of bottles of vodka regardless its current price in roubles.
References
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Prohibition — For prohibition of certain other drugs, see Prohibition (drugs). For the general concept of legal prohibition, see Prohibitionism. For other uses, see Prohibition (disambiguation). A raid in 1925, in Elk Lake, Ontario Prohibition of alcohol,… … Wikipedia
Russian Australians — Infobox Ethnic group group = Russian Australian flagicon|Russia flagicon|Australia caption = Notable Russian Australians: Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov, Jennie George poptime = 15,354 (Russia born, 2006) 67,055 (Russian ancestry, 2006)… … Wikipedia
Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh — Plaque at the Cathedral of the Dormition, Ennismore Gardens, London. The Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Russian: Сурожская Епархия) is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church which has for its territory the islands of Great Bri … Wikipedia
HISTORICAL SURVEY: THE STATE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS (1880–2006) — Introduction It took the new Jewish nation about 70 years to emerge as the State of Israel. The immediate stimulus that initiated the modern return to Zion was the disappointment, in the last quarter of the 19th century, of the expectation that… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Business and Industry Review — ▪ 1999 Introduction Overview Annual Average Rates of Growth of Manufacturing Output, 1980 97, Table Pattern of Output, 1994 97, Table Index Numbers of Production, Employment, and Productivity in Manufacturing Industries, Table (For Annual… … Universalium
Law, Crime, and Law Enforcement — ▪ 2006 Introduction Trials of former heads of state, U.S. Supreme Court rulings on eminent domain and the death penalty, and high profile cases against former executives of large corporations were leading legal and criminal issues in 2005.… … Universalium
RELIGIOUS LIFE AND COMMUNITIES — Jews UNDER OTTOMAN RULE The Jews of the pre Zionist old yishuv, both sephardim (from the Orient) and ashkenazim (of European origin), dedicated their lives to the fulfillment of religious precepts: the study of the torah and the meticulous… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Collectivization in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic — Holodomor topics Historical background Famines in Russia and USSR · Soviet famine of 1932–1933 Soviet government Institutions: All Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) · Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine · … Wikipedia
International Organizations and Groups — Note: The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) has dissolved and ceases to exist. None of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, including Serbia and Montenegro, have been permitted to participate solely on the basis of the… … Universalium
European Union — 1. an association of European nations formed in 1993 for the purpose of achieving political and economic integration. Formerly known as the European Economic Community, the European Union s member states are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,… … Universalium
