Vodka is a product made from purified water and rectified alcohol. According to established standards, GOST, its strength is from 40 to 50%, but 40% is considered to be the generally accepted standard for the strength of this alcoholic beverage.
Historical perspective
The exact historical time when this legendary alcoholic drink was created is unknown. Historical chronicles tell at least three basic versions of the origin of vodka, namely:
- in the XI century in ancient Persia, a famous healer named Ar-Razi made a strong alcoholic drink, very similar in composition to vodka, and spoke about this in his writings;
- XIV century in the Miracle Monastery (Moscow Kremlin), a monk named Isidore prepared the first vodka in Russia, which the monks did not forget to mention in the annals;
- in the 19th century, the Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev described in detail the processes for preparing an alcoholic aqueous solution similar in characteristics to vodka.
However, Dmitry Ivanovich himself was completely indifferent to this drink, which he told in his book:
... I have never drank vodka in my lifetime, and I even know very little of its taste, no more than the taste of many salts and poisons (Mendeleev DI, 1907, “To the knowledge of Russia”).
In Soviet times, vodka was an extremely popular drink. It was customary to use it in its pure form. The periods of the reign of Soviet leaders are connected with it. The prices for this product reflected changes in the policies of the party and the Government of the USSR, testified to any significant events.
The first vodka of the Soviet Union
Until 1924, a prohibition was introduced in the young Soviet country, introduced as early as 1914, during the First World War. Its cancellation was associated with the intention to increase the flow of funds to the budget. For the government of the USSR, this, as history shows, was a dangerous and responsible act.
It is believed that the sale of the first Soviet vodka began on October 4, 1925 in Moscow. Huge queues formed behind her. On average, up to 2,000 bottles were sold per day in each store.
The start of sales of a strong alcoholic drink seriously affected the work of industry in the USSR. In the early days of the sale of vodka, the jobs of Soviet institutions, factories and factories lost many of their employees. The facts show that about 40% of the personnel were not counted by individual enterprises.
The first Soviet vodka was also the most popular vodka in the USSR. In everyday life, they began to call it a "roar" - in honor of the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Alexei Rykov.
A bottle of vodka was 0.5 liter. The price of vodka in the USSR was one ruble. Many said that its quality was low.
On the label of the bottle of the first Soviet vodka, its strength was not indicated, but contemporaries claim that it ranged from 27 to 30%. For a long period of sale of the "rykovka" a different strength was recorded, from 30 to 42% degrees. This was explained by the fact that innovations were introduced in the process of vodka production at the distilleries, indicating that the Soviet government allowed producers to experiment.
The first anti-alcohol company of the USSR
As noted above, the termination of Prohibition in the USSR was primarily due to the fact that the state needed to replenish the budget, since it was necessary to seriously strengthen the country's defense.
However, the government of the Soviet Union was concerned that with the advent of vodka on the shelves, a sharp decline began in all areas of industry - the population abused alcohol and neglected their duties. The party decides on the establishment of the Society of sobriety. Thousands of demonstrations began to take place throughout the country, and large rallies were gathering. Posters on the theme of the fight against alcoholism were very popular. The anti-alcohol company also attracted children who campaigned with posters that read: “Daddy come home sober!”, “Daddy don't drink!”, “Don't drink alcohol, but bread!” etc.
But the excesses provoked massive popular protests, which opened a direct path to the collapse of vodka production - budget revenues could significantly decrease. By the leadership of the USSR, sobriety societies were abolished by the end of the 1930s.
Vodka and the Great Patriotic War
Since the beginning of World War II, the production of vodka has reached a new level. Front-line workers were given daily the so-called People’s Commissars one hundred grams. Historians say that the use of vodka at the front to some extent helped to relieve tension, increase stress resistance, strengthen morale.
It should be noted that the German army also practiced the issuance of strong alcoholic beverages to soldiers as rations. However, this was not regulated, as in the Red Army. Moreover, German soldiers noted that an increase in the rate of issuing schnapps was always associated with preparation for the offensive. This fact did not contribute to raising morale, as the soldiers understood that there would be losses after the battle.
Systematic front 100 grams had negative consequences. After the victory, fighters who returned from the fronts felt the need for daily use of vodka. Alcoholization in the USSR was continued.
Post-war vodka and its prices
By the beginning of the 50s of the XX century, a certain price range for vodka was formed in the USSR. The most popular and cheapest vodka in that period was the so-called vodka “knot”.
It was based on hydrolysis alcohol, obtained from the so-called black molasses - in fact, from wood saccharified by hydrolysis. The woody origin of the alcohol used for the manufacture of vodka formed the popular name for this strong alcoholic drink. It had an unpleasant chemical smell, and its use provoked a pronounced fume. The official name was “Vodka ordinary”, it was bottled in 0.5 liter containers, the cork was cardboard, filled with red wax. The price of vodka in the USSR at that time was 21 rubles 20 kopecks.
Another popular vodka of that period was Moscow Special, which in common people was called the “white head”. It was a half-liter bottle, the cardboard cork of which was filled with white wax. Its cost was 25 rubles 20 kopecks.
The price of vodka “Stolichnaya” of the USSR was 30 rubles and 70 kopecks. Poured into a half-liter bottle with a high neck brandy type. Its quality was much better, since it was mainly exported.
A new stage in the fight against alcoholism and the monetary reform of 1961
The monetary reform of 1961 led to the fact that the price of vodka in the USSR was reduced by 10 times.
Before the monetary reform, in 1958, in December, a Decree of the Government of the USSR was adopted, aimed at strengthening the fight against alcoholism and putting things in order in the vodka trade. According to the provisions of this document, detainees with symptoms of severe alcohol intoxication were shaved bald and detained for 15 days. December was the month of the Decree’s release, therefore those who suffered from it were popularly called “Decembrists”.
"Lenin vodka"
The next rise in price of vodka came at the beginning of the 70s of the XX century. The cheapest alcoholic drink of that period was nicknamed “crankshaft” (the inscription “Vodka” on the label was schematically executed in the form of a crankshaft). The price of vodka in the USSR was 3 rubles 62 kopecks. Since 1972, when a new campaign against drunkenness was launched, it has become, for a long period, the only vodka available on the market.
This vodka was allowed to trade in the liquor departments of stores only from 11:00. This led to the fact that the people began to call it "Leninist." By analogy with the jubilee ruble issued by the next memorable date. On the obverse of this coin, the leader of the world proletariat stands with his hand raised, which indicates a direction similar to finding 11 hours on the dial.
In the mid-70s, other vodka began to appear on the shelves of Soviet stores. Of these, the famous ones were Pshenichnaya and Russkaya.
The price of Pshenichnaya vodka in the USSR was 4 rubles 42 kopecks. After the rise in price in 1981 - 6 rubles 20 kopecks. The price of Russkaya vodka in the USSR was 4 rubles 12 kopecks, after 1981 - 5 rubles 30 kopecks.
Afghan war and the price of vodka
A new increase in the price of popular spirits came in 1981. Then the price of a bottle of vodka in the USSR, the cheapest, rose to 5 rubles 30 kopecks. This increase is associated with the fact that the USSR began to experience serious financial difficulties with filling the budget due to the Afghan war. According to financial analysts, the Soviet Union spent up to $ 3 billion annually on this military campaign. Foreign exchange earnings at that time seriously fell, since since the end of 1980, oil prices have fallen sharply.
"Andropovka" - a nice gift to the people by lowering the price of vodka
A pleasant reduction in the price of vodka for the peoples of the USSR occurred in 1983, during the period when the next general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Yu. Andropov, was in power. This year, from September 1, vodka began to be sold at a price of 4 rubles 70 kopecks.
The people dubbed it “andropovka”. But there were other names - “first grader” and “schoolgirl”, as she entered the stores on the first day of the school year.
Its sale did not last long, only 2 years, but it managed to become legendary due to the only reduction in the price of vodka from the times of the USSR.
Vodka in the last period of the life of the USSR
Almost immediately after the appointment of the new General Secretary of the CPSU, M. Gorbachev, in 1985, the next fight against alcoholism and drunkenness began. There were prerequisites for this - the people of the Soviet Union simply drank themselves. The USSR government sharply raised the price of vodka, the popular “andropovka” disappeared from the shelves, and the cheapest vodka product cost 9 rubles 10 kopecks.
The state budget suffered from this campaign. According to official figures, every year he did not count about 16 billion rubles, which amounted to about 10-12% of its total. The shortage of spirits associated with the liquidation of vodka factories has led to gigantic lines across the country. The prestige of the leadership of the USSR fell significantly, the collapse of the Soviet Union did not have to wait long.
So, we can conclude that the prices of vodka in the USSR changed quite seriously over the years - everything depended on the political situation in the country.