Anti-alcohol campaign in the Soviet Union 1985–1991
The anti-alcohol campaign in the Soviet Union 1985-1991 was a policy approach of the then General Secretary of the CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev to restrict alcohol consumption in the country through political measures and thereby reduce the economic and social consequences of alcoholism .
background
In Soviet and Russian society, vodka traditionally had a high priority and, as a relatively easily available and affordable intoxicant, it was particularly popular among the workers. As a result, life expectancy for men in the Soviet Union fell noticeably since the 1960s; In the mid-1980s, a man's life expectancy was only about 63 years - twelve years less than in the United States at the same time. It is estimated that alcoholism among collective farm workers caused crop failures of nearly a third. There were about eight million alcoholics in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s; ten years later this number was already around 20 million, with the strongest increases being recorded primarily among women and minors. Gorbachev's predecessor as General Secretary Yuri Andropov tried to reduce the negative effects of alcohol on work ethic and productivity by intensifying the surveillance of factories by the police and the secret service, and urged his compatriots to replace vodka with beer or wine . Gorbachev referred above all to the high number of work accidents after pay days when he described alcohol as "the country's worst enemy".
campaign
On May 5, 1985, all Soviet newspapers published the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU on Measures to Overcome Drunkenness and Alcoholism. As of June 1, alcoholic beverages were only allowed to be sold between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., and maximum sales per person were set. In addition, almost two thirds of all sales outlets were closed; in Moscow , anyone caught drunk by the police was punished with a fine of half a month's wages or up to 15 days in prison. A large number of distilleries and breweries were closed; in the Soviet republics of Moldova and Ukraine , over 140,000 hectares of vineyards were destroyed. In the cultural field, attempts were made to influence people through poster and television advertising; In addition, films and photos that portrayed alcohol positively were censored and retouched . Higher party officials and executives in industrial companies were threatened with dismissal and expulsion from the party; the legal minimum age for alcohol consumption was increased from 18 to 21 years.
Impact, Failure, and Political Consequences
The measures turned out to be extremely unpopular, although they were very successful in terms of health policy: Alcohol-related, acute deaths in Russia fell by around two thirds and the general life expectancy of Russians increased by around two years within a very short time.
However, productivity did not increase as many workers left their jobs to queue in front of the few shops that were still open, and a lively black market formed in which both criminal gangs and the average citizen produced and sold self-distilled liquor (samogon) . which was often of dubious quality and therefore harmful to health. One sign of the increase in in-house production was, for example, that hamsters were buying sugar. Toothpaste was also becoming scarce as it was a suitable means of covering up the alcohol plume.
Another disastrous consequence for the Soviet state was the loss of tax revenue, which was quantified at a total of ten billion rubles per year. Even after the end of the campaign in October 1988, income rose only slowly, as the state monopoly on the production of spirits no longer existed. In addition, there was the loss of popularity for Gorbachev: He was mocked by the population as "Comrade Orange Juice" and "Mineral Secretary"; this negative image damaged him in the turning point of 1991/92 in the power struggle with the alcohol-loving Boris Yeltsin .
After the end of the anti-alcohol campaign, life expectancy of Russians fell rapidly again - even below the level of before the campaign.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Der Spiegel - One day: Hammer and Pichel
- ^ György Dalos: Gorbachev. Man and power. A biography. CH Beck, Munich 2011 ISBN 978-3-406-61340-1 p. 64.
- ↑ Die Zeit 22/1985: Gorbachev's fight against alcoholism
- ↑ a b Leon, DA, Shkolnikov, VM, McKee, M .: The following applies to men: drink a lot and die earlier. First-hand demographic research, 6: 4, 4 (2009)
- ^ Steven Morwood: The demise of the command economies in the Soviet Union and its outer Empire. in: Michael J. Oliver / Derek H. Aldcroft (eds.): Economic Disasters of the twentieth Century . Edmund Elgar, Cheltenham 2008 ISBN 978-1-84844-158-3 pp. 258-311, here S: 286.