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.
A complete or partial ban on alcohol is a topic that worries any connoisseur of alcoholic beverages. Today we will take all the most interesting things about dry laws, press from this fragrant cake, let it ferment, distill and serve you in portions, in delicious misted piles.
A complete or partial ban on alcohol is a topic that, one way or another, worries any connoisseur of alcoholic beverages. So the online magazine "Rum Diary" decided to keep up with the trend. There is a lot of information on this subject on the Internet, so we will not replicate the next "10 facts" or go deep into the history, background and consequences. Today we will take all the most interesting things about dry laws, press from this fragrant cake, let it ferment, distill and serve you in portions, in delicious misted piles.
First toast. Aperitif.
“Once upon a time, in a far, far away country, there lived one prince - a respected, brave, but narrow-minded person. And he saw how young horsemen, instead of plowing on princely lands and going on a hike to rich neighbors, have fun all day long, drink wine, get acquainted with beauties, fight and sing songs. And I must say that since childhood this ruler was tormented by an ulcer, gout, stupidity and complexes. And he decided that everyone else should live as badly as he himself - he banned wine, ordered the vineyards to be cut down, and at the same time ordered the national anthem to be sung in chorus every day. At the funeral of the prince, this hymn was sung especially beautifully, and on his grave a vine grew by itself, which gave ripe, juice-filled clusters. They made fine wine out of them, but they didn’t drink it - they save it in case another such idiot comes to power.”
This old legend is one-to-one similar to all stories with the introduction of dry laws in world practice. Almost all of them were experiments aimed at increasing labor productivity and improving the "moral character" of citizens. Without exception, all experiments were unsuccessful, some of them ended in the collapse of the state economy, and in some places - the states themselves.
Anti-alcohol laws began to be introduced in the early twentieth century. The first was adopted in 1907 in Canada, and off we go: 1907-1992 - Faroe Islands, 1910-1927 - Australia, 1915-1935 - Iceland, 1916-1926 - Norway, and in 1919 prohibition was introduced in Finland .
"5-4-3-2-1-0" is a code that every hot Finnish guy of the 30s is familiar with. It means the date and time of the opening of shops with alcohol after the repeal of the law - 04/05/32 at 10 o'clock.
In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment, the famous prohibition law in America, came into force in the United States. In 1932, this amendment was canceled - for the first and last time throughout the history of the United States.
The first dry law in Russia in 1914 was "sent down" by the tsar-priest Nicholas II - interestingly, he himself is not a fool to drink. We all know how this event ended - with the collapse of the Empire and the arrival of the Bolsheviks, who, by the way, also banned drunkenness in 1917, but in 1923 they allowed it again. By decree of People's Commissar Rykov, cheap vodka appeared on the market, which was immediately nicknamed "rykovka".
In the future, the struggle for sobriety continued with varying success. Anti-vodka campaigns were carried out in 1929, 1958, 1972. It was at this time that a terrible miscarriage of the soviet "punitive psychiatry" was invented - the Medical-labor dispensary.
As a result, instead of high-quality alcohol, people began to drink dubious shmurdyak, and some even even colognes and BF glue. It is believed that it was at this time that the future “brothers” of the 90s were born - the “initial private capital” grew on illegal imports and the manufacture of alcohol, which became a sentence for the USSR.
Second toast. For health!
Alcohol poisoning has always been the flip side of dry laws. Not all bootleggers have anything like a conscience. In counterfeit alcohol poured everything - up to poisonous and toxic substances. Mass poisoning with methanol was noted during Prohibition in Finland, the USSR, and in the States, methyl alcohol was specially added to technical alcohol so that they would not drink. The result is 10,000 dead and 15,000 disabled (for comparison, in Iraq, the United States lost half as many people, 4,423).
Pharmacies have always been at the forefront of selling "special" substances to the afflicted. Today's tramadol and harmless atusinchiki are a trifle compared to what was happening in the days of dry laws. In the States, for example, the Jake drink, a Jamaican ginger tincture, was popular. The authorities, having sniffed out that it was consumed by drinkers, ordered pharmacists to change the formula of the drug so that it tastes nasty. An industrial plasticizer went into action - then it was believed that it was harmless. The result is hundreds of paralyzed tasters and several horrific deaths.
Such "medicinal" whiskey was sold in pharmacies during Prohibition in America.
The prohibitionist measures of the US government did not touch one interesting drug rich in ellagolic acid - it was prescribed for people with heart disease and malignant tumors. The wonderful panacea is well known to us - it is malt whiskey. It was sold in pharmacies and cost a lot of money, but it was the only almost legal alcohol that could be obtained at that time.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, alcohol was not banned - it was dispensed by prescription in a pharmacy. Appeared whole galaxy Aesculapius businessmen who handed out prescriptions for drugs for money. Apothecaries also had their share in the "business". The tradition continued in the USSR during the era of stagnation - in pharmacies it was possible to buy both medical alcohol (by prescription), and all sorts of hawthorn, calendula, eucalyptus.
Third toast. For beautiful ladies!
“Thanks to the native party and Gorbachev personally! My sober husband came home and you….l great!”- such a ditty went with us during the anti-alcohol campaign of the late 80s. And in general, it is believed that the bulk of the supporters of Prohibition in Russia and throughout the world belong to the fair sex.
Take a look at these friendly and open faces. How can you not drink if you have such a wife?
The beginning of an active fight against alcoholism is associated with the development of emancipation. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, hundreds of pious organizations, predominantly religious and predominantly women's, operated in the Old and New Worlds. In the States after civil war the so-called "Women's Christian Temperance Union" appeared, and in 1893 the "Anti-Saloon League" - organizations that subsequently had a decisive influence on the adoption of the 18th amendment. Similar "public associations" were created in the USSR - just under the campaigns of 1929, 1958, 1972, 1985.
Known, for example, such a "wrestler" with alcoholism, like Callie Nation. She traveled across the States holding an ax in one hand and a bible in the other. In every city, she broke into the saloons and crushed everything she saw with her hatchet, saying that the liquor dealers "lured men straight to hell." Later, the old woman changed her name to Carry A. Nation (support the nation), began to publish a newspaper and "sober" souvenirs, on which, they say, she had a good income. Why not the American dream?
But emancipation is a double-edged sword. Among the women there were many who liked to drink and did not support the unconstructive “ban and period!”. For example, a well-known opponent of Prohibition in the United States was Grace Coolidge - by the way, the wife of President Calvin Coolidge. She loved good liquor, criticized the anti-alcohol policy of the Republicans and even named her dog "Rob Roy" - after the famous scotch-based cocktail and. They say that after this, the love of Americans for their First Lady skyrocketed.
And these girls are living proof that not all ladies supported prohibition.
Prohibition in America was accompanied by a surge in female alcoholism. The reason is simple - the ladies, who before the ban drank mainly wine and light cocktails, began to consume low-grade strong whiskey together with their husbands. The same was observed in our country - everyone knows the colognes "Jasmine" and "Rose Water", which were considered "female" drinks.
Fourth toast. There are no irreplaceable!
Banned alcohol? Well, people will find a way to “kill themselves” without your wines and cognacs! Everything went into the business - cosmetics, shampoos, tooth elixirs, "anti-freeze" and other muck. Soviet alcoholics, and not only alcoholics, were especially famous for their ingenuity.
Here is a small "TOP" of their favorite "cocktails":
- Cucumber lotion. 68% + relatively sane taste. All that had to be done before drinking was to dip a red-hot piece of iron into the liquid, which supposedly cleansed the drink of toxic impurities.
- Varnish. Unforgettable claimed that every baby knows how to clean polish. To do this, 100 grams of salt is poured into a liter of liquid, the mixture is shaken, after which foam and sediment are removed. People who often drank this marvelous drink turned brown-purple in their faces, for which they were called "eggplants."
- Clay BF, aka Boris Fedorych. Before use, the glue was allowed to “drill” - they put a working drill into the jar, which gradually wound up the adhesive. They threw it away, and the remaining alcohol with a terrible chemical aroma was drunk with pleasure.
- Denatured alcohol. Before use, this swill underwent a real “purification by fire” - it was set on fire and waited. When the flame turned blue, the methanol burned out, the liquid was drinkable. Due to the fact that a skull and crossbones were painted on bottles of methylated spirits, it was often called Cognac "Mastrossky", two seeds.
- Dichlorvos. Disinsectal had a double effect - both alcoholic and toxic. Most often it was puffed into a mug of beer. Only no more than two zilch - otherwise you can die!
- And, finally, the highlight of the program is shoe polish! The method of cleaning it is simple and ingenious - shoe polish was smeared on a piece of bread, which absorbed alcohol over time, after which the bread was eaten. True, shoe polish was reserved for the most extreme case, when there was simply nothing else left - the chance to “glue boots together” is too great.
Fifth toast. If you want to do well - do it yourself!
The main panacea for Prohibition in Russia is known under the name: "moonshine", "sam", "kosorylovka", "tyrant" and so on. In America, its name was the more poetic "Moonshine Liquor" or simply "Moonshine". But the essence of this did not change - the same homemade liquor from the simplest and most affordable ingredients - cereals, sugar, fruits, etc.
In the USSR, moonshine was driven regardless of whether the state is currently fighting alcoholism or not. But during the days of prohibition in Russia, the inventive mind of our man invented more and more new ingredients. For example, it was at this time that mash began to be made from candy pads. When the stores ran out of sugar and sugar-containing products, potatoes, beet tops, and molasses were used. Anyone who has tried treacle moonshine knows how disgusting it is - the headache after it may not stop for 2-3 days, and the redness of the eyes does not go away for weeks! As Ostap Bender said: Even from an ordinary stool you can drive moonshine. Some people love the stool».
My father told a funny story about one moonshine "point". “Maman” Aunt Klava was unhappy with the fact that customers constantly take away the glasses they have been given out. As a result, two holes were made in the shutter of her house. It was necessary to stick the head into one, and the hand into the second, small one. When a thirsty person voluntarily placed himself in this makeshift pillory, he was poured a glass that could only be drunk inside - he did not climb through the hole.
In the States in the 30s, the production of "Moon Liquor" reached an absolutely unimaginable scale. Despite all the efforts of the police, bootleggers hunted wherever possible - in their own homes, in forests, on abandoned farms. They were caught, but they returned again, despite inhumanly cruel punishments. There is a known case when the court sentenced an 85-year-old man to five years of hard labor and a fine of $ 500 for driving several bottles of whiskey to a holiday for himself and friends.
Ps boy! Would you like some moon liqueur?
In 1926, the largest underground distillery in US history was discovered in Oklahoma City. The total volume of its production capacity exceeded 100,000 liters, the workshop was underground, at a depth of 250 meters, illegal water supply, electricity and an elevator were laid to it.
By the end of the 1920s, in some states, violations of the eighteenth amendment accounted for 95% of all crimes. The state spent about a billion dollars annually on the fight against moonshiners, more than 75,000 people were arrested every year. A quarter of a million cops enforced Prohibition, and another 20,000 fought corruption in the ranks of that quarter.
Last toast. A little beer after.
During the anti-alcohol campaigns, not only strong liquor, but also innocent beer was persecuted. For example, in Iceland, Prohibition was abolished in 1935, but teetotaler organizations begged for an indulgence - beer remained banned for another 50 years. On March 1, 1985, the government lifted the illogical ban. Since then, every year in early March, it is customary for Icelanders to drink beer all night long, and the foamy drink itself has become a favorite in this country and even received national status. That's what is called "dorval"!
Things were a little better in Australia. During the First World War, Australians worked for the defense industry from 6 am to 5 pm. After that, the workers were supposed to sleep, so the bars closed at exactly 17.00. Drinkers were forced to leave work early to have time to drink beer. By the way, there was only one glass for each visitor, a new portion was poured only when the previous one was over.
The first attempts in the fight against drunkenness were still under Tsar Nicholas II in 1913. After the Great October Revolution, the Bolsheviks were in no hurry to return alcohol to stores, only in 1923 alcohol began to be sold freely. But between 1960 and 1980, inexorable statistics showed that alcohol-related deaths doubled. A promising young politician, Mikhail Gorbachev, introduced dry law in 1985, and a large-scale struggle began to combat alcoholism in the USSR.
Which of the politicians in the USSR owns the initiative to introduce dry law?
May 17, 1985 general secretary The Central Committee of the CPSU Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev introduced prohibition in the USSR. The newspaper Pravda then published and entered into force the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On strengthening the fight against drunkenness." This date is the beginning of Prohibition, and this event outraged the entire adult population of the country. Decreased revenues to the budget, which came from the sale of alcohol, as drunkenness has reached record levels.Mikhail Gorbachev knew well about the problems that drunkenness brings, because his daughter worked as a narcologist. However, the leader Soviet Union did not take into account the sad experience of Americans in the fight against alcohol. It is worth noting that the anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR was planned even earlier, but it was postponed due to a series of deaths and the ascension to the throne of the then leaders of the Soviet Union.
What changed during Prohibition?
In the fight against drunkenness, the government of the USSR took such radical measures:- almost in one day in the USSR, 2/3 of the shops that sold alcoholic beverages were closed. And in the shops that remained, they sold vodka and wine only from 14-00 to 19-00. Huge queues were created, people lined up long before the sale of alcohol to buy alcohol;
- water prices have risen repeatedly;
- tough measures were taken against people who drank alcohol in public places. If a person was caught doing this in the workplace, he was threatened with a large fine, dismissal and expulsion from the party;
- non-alcoholic weddings were very popular in those days. But all the same, the guests quietly drank vodka and cognac from teapots;
- scenes where they drank alcohol were cut from movies. And those films that praised a sober lifestyle were held in high esteem;
- only in the first years of Prohibition, the production of vodka decreased from 806 million to 60 million liters.
- between 1986 and 1990, life expectancy for men increased by two and a half years, because they began to drink less and reached 63 years;
- crime in a state of alcoholic intoxication has decreased several times;
- the birth rate has increased.
Negative aspects of Prohibition
- Destruction of a large number of vineyards. Then in Moldova, the Crimea and the Caucasus, a lot of vineyards were destroyed so that they would not make wine. Some varieties were very rare.
- The appearance of large queues in stores for alcohol. Alcohol was sold at certain hours, as mentioned above, and this led to large queues that alcohol lovers occupied from the very morning. There were fights and crushes.
- Entrepreneurial people began to earn on the shortage of alcohol. Of course, smuggling was not a large-scale phenomenon, because in those days the borders of the USSR were closed for speculators.
- There were people who instead of vodka began to use something completely different. In pharmacies they dismantled herbal tinctures for alcohol, in stores they dismantled triple cologne and various antifreezes. Ordinary people began to drive moonshine. And so they introduced coupons for sugar, but people drove moonshine from both beets and sweets.
The easiest way is to visit the official page of the program - www.1tv.ru. You will simply need to fill out the proposed form, in which individual data, contact ...
The prohibition of wine is a law that takes into account
Who drinks, and when, and how much, and with whom.
When all these conditions are met,
Drinking is a sign of wisdom, not vice at all.
(Omar Khayyam)
At midnight on January 16, 1920, an amendment to the US Constitution came into effect, and throughout the United States, the production, transportation and sale of alcohol became illegal. Time has begun Prohibition - Prohibition.
Two amendments
The American constitution has been "ruled" 27 times. The first ten amendments dealt with fundamental things - freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, the right to own weapons, etc. These are collectively known as the Bill of Rights and were added shortly after the adoption of the constitution. The remaining seventeen amendments were adopted as needed.Almost all of the adopted amendments are still in effect, and this demonstrates the wisdom of American legislators. But why "almost all"? Because in one case, and the only, the amendment was repealed, and for this it was necessary to adopt another amendment. Amendment numbers are Eighteenth and Twenty-first, and they refer to the "valiant" American social experiment.
Alcohol in America
The people drink, male and female,urban and rural,
fools and wise drink
spenders and misers drink,
eunuchs drink and revelers drink,
peacekeepers and warriors,
the poor and the rich,
patients and doctors.
(From vagants)
The history of American drinking began with beer and gin, to which rum, whiskey and vodka were later added.
beer The Pilgrims from the Mayflower were originally bound for Virginia, but landed in Massachusetts because they "ran out of food...and beer". In the colonies, men, women and even children drank beer with meals, and also between meals - as a light drink.
Gin It was made by distilling wheat alcohol with the addition of juniper. Gin was invented in Holland, brought to England in the 17th century as a replacement for enemy French brandy. It was originally used by the colonists as a medicine.
Rum (rum) Rum was first obtained in the Caribbean when the Spanish landed there and planted sugar cane. After the appearance of rum in New England, its production became so prosperous that rum was exported to other colonies and even to Africa - until the taxes of the pre-revolutionary years strangled the business.
Whiskey
Fortunately, by this time arrived in in large numbers Scotch-Irish, taking with them the ability to make whiskey from rye. This whiskey replaced rum, but soon rye whiskey met its fate. High taxes, already established by the American government, even caused unrest (Whiskey Rebellion).
The next was whiskey made from corn - Bourbon whiskey. If it was made at home, it was called moonshine (moonshine).
The noblest whiskey is Scotch whiskey, made from barley. This whiskey is from England, it appeared in America from the end of the 19th century.
Two words - about the spelling of "whiskey" in American English. Whiskeys of Irish or American origin are spelled whisk E y, English - whiskey.
Vodka The Anglo-Saxon world became acquainted with this miracle during Crimean War(1853-56), but the mass consumption of vodka began only after the First World War.
Alcohol labels from the 30s
How, in a country with such a long and varied drinking tradition, did it become possible thirteen No alcohol law?
Road to Prohibition
We will drink everything without a trace.Hops are bitter, but sweet to drink.
Sweet bitter drink!
Bitter lenten life...
(From vagants)
Attitudes towards alcohol in America have varied - from sharply negative to more than benevolent.
The early colonists drank often, but they believed that wine was from God, drunkenness was from the devil. Hell awaited heavy drunkards. To save their souls, punishments were used, from stocks to public flogging. Moderate drinking was not a sin.
This attitude continued after American Revolution, but now an excess of alcohol has become considered harmful not only to the soul, but also to the body. In 1808 the first Temperance Society was formed, followed by others.
Lithograph "Women's holy war"
At first, the name corresponded to the goal of the movement - "to encourage moderation", but then the call to "refrain from harmful" (read alcohol) was added, since then the word "moderation" has come to mean "abstinence from alcohol", i.e. complete sobriety.
At the end of the 19th century, America was undergoing a dramatic evolution - massive "new" immigration changed the Anglo-Saxon face of society, and the industrial revolution made the rural one-story America urban nation. Immigration has turned a homogenous society into an explosive mixture of different cultures and values, while urbanization has brought the fall of patriarchal mores. Many blamed alcohol for everything, and considered the incarnation of the alcoholic devil saloons (saloons - bars in the American style).
Temperance societies were initially few in number, but soon a large number of people began to join them - at different times such celebrities as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Upton Sinclair, Jack London were registered in them.
The largest organizations were:
Prohibition Party Born out of the "moderation" movement, the political party is the oldest of the so-called third parties trying to destroy the two-party American system. Influential at first, after the abolition of Prohibition, it turned into a dwarf organization.
Women's Christian Temperance Union (Women's Christian Temperance Union)
The main way the union fought for complete abstinence from alcohol was the siege of saloons by groups of women singing psalms. 
Extremely aggressive behavior was distinguished by Carrie Nation, who was not limited to psalms and prayers, but acted physically, destroying furniture in saloons and breaking bottles with her hatchet. 
Anti-Saloon League (Anti-Saloon League)
This organization played a key role in the implementation of Prohibition. Her motto is Saloon must go
(the saloon should disappear). Formed last, the Anti-Saloon League quickly took the lead in the movement. Deservedly considered one of the forerunners of modern PR.
Several posters from the Anti-Saloon League 
One of the popular slogans of the movement was a line from a poem and a song
Lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine
(Lips touching alcohol won't touch my lips)
A well-known parody of an anti-alcohol advertisement from a 1910 silent film based on this slightly modified line 
By the early 20th century, temperance organizations were active in every state.
Introduction of Prohibition
He angered three kings,And it was decided
That John will perish forever
Barley Grain.
(Robert Burns)
In 1913, the Anti-Saloon League announced that its ultimate goal was not just closing saloons, but an All-American Prohibition.
In 1916, local dry laws had already been passed in half the states.
Poster commemorating the passage of Prohibition in North Carolina in 1908
Finally, in 1919, when thousands of male potential opponents of the law were still in the American Expeditionary Force (in Europe, after World War I), the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified.
Prohibition was expected to improve the health and moral hygiene of Americans and reduce crime and corruption in society. In addition, in the mass consciousness, alcohol was associated with immigrants, primarily with Germans, Irish and Italians. Prohibition could hasten the Americanization of "outsiders."
On January 16, 1920, the Volstead Act, which banned all drinks containing more than 0.5% alcohol, went into effect, and sixteen days later, federal agents conducted the first raid on an underground bar in Chicago.
Life under Prohibition
If you can’t, but really want to, then you can (c)Prohibition seemed to many simple solution accumulated social problems.
Alas, the implementation of Prohibition was hindered primarily by the fact that too many people were thirsty. They were looking for any opportunity to get the desired product, even if it was banned. Such massive disregard for the law forced local authorities to ignore obvious violations. On the other hand, for many reasons (because of corruption primarily) the federal government was unable to properly enforce the law.
This combination of demand for liquor with an already corrupt political system meant that Prohibition was doomed from the start.
Those who were thirsty could obtain alcohol by both illegal and legal means. Yes, yes, legal! There are many loopholes in the law.
The possession and consumption of alcohol was not prohibited, so if you managed to buy or produce alcohol before the law began, it was at your complete disposal.
Detroit. Last hours before Prohibition
Last Call - the last order (an order that is placed at the closing of the bar)
You have little time left, and we have stocks
Hurry or you'll be left with nothing
Whiskey was treated as a medicine - having such a prescription on a special form, you could buy a coveted drink at a pharmacy (the word whiskey is clearly visible in the left half): 
The label on the "medicine" warned that it was for medicinal purposes only and other uses were illegal. But the doctors wrote out such "prescriptions" quite freely, and the number of "sick people" jumped sharply.
Another source of alcohol was weak drinks that did not fall under the 0.5% ban, which, after a certain " homework"turned into strong ones. Some were even supplied with detailed instructions, which described in detail how NOT to get prohibited alcohol from the product! It only remained, ignoring the "not" particle, to carefully follow such instructions.
And of course, it was possible to drive moonshine at home with a small risk of being discovered, but with a big risk of exploding or poisoning 
Try it on a dog first
If you didn’t want to bother with all this, there was an extensive network of underground bars (speakeasy) at your service. 
To the underground bar - here
Walking up to the door, you should have said Sesame, open up
Joe sent me (I'm from Joe)
It was necessary to speak quietly so as not to attract unnecessary attention to you, hence the name - speak easy. You were let in, and if the federal agents didn't stop by that day, you could have fun. 
Who created and supported this considerable business afloat?
A holy place is never empty. When a thriving industry was brought to a halt by a stopcock, clandestine production flourished.
It was forbidden to legally produce alcohol - illegal enterprises arose.
Police with moonshine stills seized during the raid
Tower of Babel made from barrels of alcohol destined for destruction
It was forbidden to transport alcohol - smuggling flourished: across the Canadian border (by land or through the Great Lakes) or by sea. In the latter case, schooners filled with alcohol waited for boats from the coast, drifting outside the 30-mile zone. 
And so the alcohol was hidden under the clothes 
It was forbidden to sell alcohol - a network of underground bars appeared. According to some estimates, the number speakeasy outnumbered the saloons that existed before the Prohibition.
By the mid-1920s, the effect of the law had practically been reduced to nothing.
Alcoholic El Dorado brought huge profits, which led to fierce competition and its extreme manifestation - gang wars.
Of course, speaking of Prohibition, one cannot fail to mention the number one gangster Al Capone, 
Opposing him is Elliot Ness, leader of The Untouchables. 
And two artistic, high-scoring federal agents, Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith. 
Izzy Einstein, a retired postman, 165 cm tall and the same size in width, had extraordinary artistic abilities. Mo Smith, a slightly taller but equally stocky ex-cigar salesman, was second fiddle. Their task, like the rest of the 1,500 federal agents, was to find violators of Prohibition and stop their activities.
The problem with underground establishments was that the agent was not allowed to enter without permission. Agents went to all sorts of tricks, and here there was no equal to Izzy Einstein, about whose talent for reincarnation the New York Times wrote that "next to him, a chameleon would blush with shame for inability." Add to this the ability to speak six languages and the result: 4392 arrests and confiscation of 5 million bottles of illegal alcohol in 5 years.
Their day was very busy - getting up at dawn, the couple could intercept a rumrunnera (courier) before breakfast, close an illegal outlet at noon, raid a pharmacy selling "medicinal" whiskey in the afternoon, and end the day with a speakeasy raid.
For each raid, the duo reincarnated, and here Izzy shone. He could go into a sports bar in a football uniform (football is American!), into a Harlem club with a black face, into a haunted beach place in a bathing suit. At the music club, dressed like a musician, he even played the trombone before delivering his catchphrase. There's sad news here(I have bad news for you).
Izzy and Mo soon became national celebrities. They were sent to other cities to train federal agents. Izzy bet he could arrest a bootlegger half an hour after arriving in a new city - and never lost.
They fell victim to their successes and other people's envy, and in 1925 they were fired at the same time.
Moe Smith and Izzy Einstein. Before and after dressing
But even such dashing super agents could not stop the wheel of history - the era of Prohibition was coming to an end.
Repeal of Prohibition
Bacchus teaches invariably:"Drunk - the sea is knee-deep!"
And sounds in the tavern choir
the third toast: "For those who are in the sea!"
The fourth toast is distributed:
"Lenten teetotalers - to hell!"
The fifth call is heard:
"Exalt the honest drunkards!"
(From vagants)
Almost immediately with the entry into force of the Prohibition Law, organizations were formed that fought for its abolition. Their activity was a combination of lobbying, public actions and flashy advertising campaigns.
I'm not a camel, I want beer! Repeal the 18th Amendment
Repeal the 18th Amendment. no beer no work
By the end of the 1920s, Prohibition lay in ruins: alcohol flowed like water, crime and corruption flourished, the authorities were in prostration, and the public was in irritation.
The experiment has ceased to be "valor", the violation of the law - entertainment, the law itself - the law.
The stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression forced the authorities to take a sober look at things - people needed work, the government needed money. Alcohol, legal again, would create thousands of jobs and tax money for Uncle Sam.
On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. This amendment repealed the 18th Amendment, restoring the legality of the production, transportation and sale of alcohol. This was the first and only time so far that a constitutional amendment has been repealed.
The good old days are back!
Prohibition score
ProAccording to various estimates, alcohol consumption has decreased by 30-50% during the period of the law. Only in the 1960s did consumption levels return to pre-legal levels.
Mortality from cirrhosis of the liver fell from 29 cases per 100,000 people (in 1911) to 10 cases per 100,000 people (in 1929).
Today, alcohol is responsible for half (of the 45,000) deaths in car accidents each year. Most domestic murders are also related to alcohol.
Contra
The tax losses of the government reached $500 million annually (let's not forget that these are dollars of the 20s).
50,000 deaths and many cases of blindness and paralysis were caused by the use of ersatz alcohol
There was a transition to the consumption of stronger alcoholic beverages, which were more profitable to produce and transport. As they said then, Prohibition successfully replaced good beer with bad gin. Consumers accustomed to the high degree did not want to return to pre-legal habits.
The beer industry was destroyed. After the repeal of Prohibition, many of the small beer makers that existed before it did not return to the market. Only large firms survived - this explains the poor taste of conveyor American beer.
After Prohibition
So let it be until the end of timeThe bottom does not dry out
In the barrel where John bubbles
Barley Grain!
(Robert Burns)
The "valiant" experiment failed. The carnival Roaring Twenties were replaced by the hopelessness of the Great Depression. If before it alcohol was needed for euphoria, then in the 30s it was the opium of the people in that very Marxian sense.
And then the second world war began.
The fifties and sixties brought rock and roll and black rights, hippies and drugs, the sex revolution and Vietnam. American society had enough problems - the struggle for sobriety has shifted to the periphery of public life ...
Post Scriptum
Rudiments of the era of Prohibition are still found - in America in some areas there is a local dry law, in New York it is forbidden to drink alcohol on the street and until recently you could not buy alcohol on Sunday.
At midnight on January 16, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution came into effect, and throughout the United States, the production, transportation and sale of alcohol became illegal. Time has begun Prohibition - Prohibition.
Who introduced the "dry law"? In the USSR, these times have come since the publication by MS Gorbachev in May 1985 of the corresponding decree on combating drunkenness and alcohol abuse. In connection with its introduction, many curses fell on the then Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council from the population of the country, who expressed dissatisfaction with decision.
History of alcohol prohibition
Since ancient times, the consumption of drinks with a high alcohol content has not been characteristic of Russia. It is known that before Peter I came to power and popularized debauchery and drunkenness, society did not encourage "shameful deeds", and intoxicating products of natural fermentation were in use - mead and primordial (a drink with a content of 2-3% alcohol), which were consumed on big holidays.
For centuries, the culture of drinking alcoholic beverages, wine and vodka, in public places, taverns and taverns, was planted with the permission of the reigning persons, thus replenishing the treasury of the state.
Russian drunkenness reached catastrophic proportions by the end of the 19th century, which was the reason for consideration in 1916 by the State Duma of the project “On the establishment of sobriety in Russian Empire forever and ever". Bolsheviks in the early years Soviet power adopted a Decree on a ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol, as well as strong drinks in 1920, but later, realizing the level of possible revenues from this area to the state budget, they canceled it.
This indicates that before M. S. Gorbachev, the authorities were already trying to combat the massive use of alcohol tsarist Russia and the young Soviet state.
Dry facts statistics
It should be noted that the anti-alcohol campaign was planned in the USSR long before Gorbachev came to power, but because of a series of deaths among the top of the CPSU, it was postponed. In 1980, the State Statistics Committee recorded the sale of alcoholic products to the population 7.8 times more than in 1940. If in May 1925 there were 0.9 liters per person, then further alcohol consumption increased by 1940 and amounted to 1.9 liters. Thus, by the beginning of the 1980s, the consumption of strong drinks in the USSR reached 15 liters per capita, which exceeded the average world level of alcohol consumption in drinking countries by almost 2.5 times. There was something to think about, including the health of the nation, government circles of the Soviet Union.
Known big influence, which was provided by members of his family to the decisions of the then leader of the USSR. It is believed that Gorbachev's daughter, who worked as a narcologist, helped to understand the extent of the catastrophic situation with excessive alcohol consumption in the country. Consumption per capita per year, which reached 19 liters per year, personal observational experience, and the role of a reformer and initiator of the perestroika program already chosen by that time, prompted Mikhail Gorbachev, then secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, to adopt the Prohibition Law.
The realities of the anti-alcohol campaign
Since the introduction of Gorbachev's "dry law", vodka and wine have become available in stores from 14:00 to 19:00. Thus, the state fought against the drunkenness of the population in the workplace and the leisure of Soviet citizens with the obligatory drinking of alcohol.
This led to the creation of a shortage of strong alcohol, speculation by ordinary citizens. With a bottle of vodka instead of money, people began to pay for services and work of a private order, in the villages and collective farms, people switched to widespread payment with bottles of moonshine.
The state treasury began to receive less financial resources, because only in the first period of the anti-alcohol campaign, the production of vodka decreased from 806 million liters to 60 million.
It became fashionable in favor of the "dry law" (1985-1991) to hold celebrations and "non-alcoholic weddings." For the most part, of course, vodka and cognac were presented on them in tableware for pouring, for example, tea. Particularly enterprising citizens used kefir, a product of natural fermentation, to obtain a state of slight intoxication.
There were people who instead of vodka began to use other alcohol-containing products. And it wasn't always Triple Cologne and antifreeze. In pharmacies, herbal tinctures were dismantled for alcohol, hawthorn tincture was especially in demand.
Moonshine
During the "prohibition" people began to look for ways out of this situation. And if before that only rural, now urban residents began to massively drive moonshine. This provoked a shortage of yeast and sugar, which they began to sell on coupons and limited the issuance to one person.
During the years of the "prohibition" moonshine was severely prosecuted under the law in a criminal manner. Citizens carefully concealed the presence of distillation apparatuses in their households. In the villages, people secretly made moonshine and buried glass containers with it in the ground, fearing inspections by supervisory authorities. In the manufacture of moonshine, any products suitable for the formation of alcohol-containing mash were used: sugar, cereals, potatoes, beets, and even fruits.
General discontent, sometimes reaching mass psychosis, led Gorbachev, under pressure from officials, to repeal the anti-alcohol law, and the country's budget began to be replenished with income from the monopoly state production and sale of alcohol.
Anti-alcohol campaign and the health of the nation
A ban on the production of alcohol under the conditions of a state monopoly and lobbying for the interests of large corporations is, of course, possible only in a country with a totalitarian regime, which was the USSR. Under the conditions of a capitalist society, a law similar to Gorbachev's "dry" law would hardly have been approved at all levels of government.
Restricting the sale of vodka and wine had a positive effect on the health of the population of the Soviet Union. If you believe the statistics of those years and its lack of engagement in the interests of confirming the correct decisions of the Communist Party, then during the time of the anti-alcohol decree, 5.5 million newborn children were born a year, which was half a million more than every year over the previous 20-30 years.
Reducing the use of strong drinks by men allowed to increase their life expectancy by 2.6 years. It is known that in the era of the Soviet Union and up to the present time, the mortality among men in Russia and their life expectancy have one of the worst indicators in comparison with other countries of the world.
Changing crime situation
A special item on the list of positive aspects of the ban on the sale of hard liquor is the reduction in the overall crime rate. Indeed, domestic drunkenness and very often accompanying petty hooliganism and crimes of medium gravity are linked together. However, it should be remembered that the alcohol niche did not remain empty for long, it was filled with sales of clandestinely produced moonshine, quality and chemical composition which, without the control of state bodies, often left much to be desired. That is, now, under the Criminal Code, producers of "self-made" alcohol were brought to justice, who drove small and medium-sized batches of this "intoxicating potion" for sale in unsanitary conditions.
Speculators did not fail to take advantage of such a restriction and introduced mark-ups on alcohol sold under the counter, including foreign-made alcohol, which on average rose by 47%. Now more citizens were brought to criminal responsibility under article 154 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR "Speculation".
Reasons for equating wine with vodka
Why was wine in this case considered similar to vodka in terms of the degree of harmful effects on the body? Let's remember that the culture of consuming predominantly dry wines and brut champagne came to Russia in the 90s, when the borders were opened for the uncontrolled import of goods from other countries. A global expansion into the market of the countries of the collapsed Soviet Union began on the part of Western suppliers of food and beverages. Prior to this, Port wine, a wine variety with an alcohol content of 17.5%, as well as Cahors and other varieties of fortified wines, were traditional and loved by the people. Sherry was very popular among the population, called ladies' cognac for its high taste and 20% alcohol content.
Thus, it becomes obvious that the culture of wine consumption in the USSR was not similar to the daily consumption of light-strength wines of the southern territories - the republics of the Soviet Union and the Mediterranean countries. soviet man deliberately chose fortified wines in order to achieve a quick intoxication without taking into account the harm of such an approach to the body.
American experience in introducing an anti-alcohol campaign
The US anti-alcohol campaign since 1917 has not reduced alcohol consumption per capita, but only contributed to the emergence of a mafia in this area and the underground sale of whiskey, brandy and other drinks. Smuggled drinks were of poor quality, crime increased sharply, people were indignant - the Great Depression was approaching. The state suffered losses from the shortfall in taxes on alcohol sales, and as a result, the US Congress was forced in 1920 to repeal the "prohibition" in the country.
Negative aspects of the anti-alcohol campaign for agriculture and the country's economy
As in the case of the fight against drug addiction, when the cultivation of poppies in household conditions was prohibited, so in the case of alcohol, the ban took the most ugly forms. It was decided to limit the cultivation of raw materials for the production of wines by deliberately destroying the best vineyards in agricultural areas. Instead of providing the country's population with selected grapes, they were rapaciously cut down on the territory of the Crimea, Moldova and the Caucasus. On the ground, the public mood and the assessment of decisions from above were negative, because many grape varieties were famous for their uniqueness, it took many years of farming to cultivate them and introduce them into the technology for the production of wine drinks.
The negative aspects of the "dry law" in the USSR (1985-1991) also have consequences delayed in time. In almost one day in July 1985, 2/3 of the shops selling alcoholic beverages were closed in the USSR. For a certain time, a part of the population, who had previously worked in the wine and vodka sales sector, remained without work. The same fate affected the inhabitants of the Crimea, the republics of Moldova and Georgia, which during the Soviet Union were practically agrarian. Their economy was directly dependent on viticulture and winemaking. After the destruction of the wine industry of the republics by the anti-alcohol law, they lost their income, which means that their population began to depend on state subsidies. Naturally, this provoked indignation and, as a result, the emergence of nationalist sentiments in society. The people began to become impoverished, while the economy of the Soviet Union did not cope well with subsidies from unprofitable industries and regions before. And when in these republics the question arose of voting on secession from the USSR, the choice of the majority of their inhabitants became obvious.
"Dry law" and modern Russia
Apparently, neither Gorbachev himself nor his entourage foresaw the scale of the catastrophic consequences of the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-1991, its impact on the distant future of many regions. The mood of the population of the republics of Moldova and Georgia towards Russia as the successor to the USSR seems already irresistible. Until now, they cannot restore the number of vines and their fertility in the Crimea and Krasnodar, so the wine trade market has been occupied for decades by no means by domestic producers. Our state inherited a lot of problems from the former Soviet Union, including Negative consequences from the introduction of "dry law".
