When Russia banned Vodka,Perhaps todays most popular clear spirit, vodka is a staple of mixology for

When Russia banned Vodka,Perhaps todays most popular clear spirit, vodka is a staple of mixology forming the main ingredient of thousands of popular cocktails.  For hundreds of years it has been a staple of Slavic peoples in the east, so it would be most unusual for a country like Russia to ban it.  In 1914 Russia had entered Word War I against Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The Russian military was still haunted by its defeat in the Russo Japanese War of 1905, and the Russian government was determined not to have a repeat of that disastrous war.  During the Russo Japanese War one major problem that severely hampered the Russian Army was the issue of widespread binge drinking, boozing, and alcoholism among the ranks of the common soldiers.  So in 1914 Czar Nicholas II decreed a widespread and total ban on Vodka in Russia.While the law only banned Vodka, it was a de facto alcohol ban as vodka was by far the #1 potent potable in the country.  The effects of the ban were immediate, riots broke out in Moscow and St. Petersburg resulting in the destruction of over 200 saloons.  The military had to put down the riots, leading to the death and injury of thousands.  Obviously, the Russian people were not content with the booze ban.  Russian propaganda claimed that the vodka ban had more or less solved Russia’s social and health problems.  The Russian Government even made boastful claims that hospitals and insane asylums were empty, as were jails and poor houses.  Of course such propaganda was humbuggery.  What’s more the ban on vodka didn’t mean people stopped drinking.  Instead, Russia fell into an atmosphere similar to that of America during Prohibition in the 1920’s.  Bootleggers and illegal distillers smuggled illegal vodka into secret saloons and bars.  The most desperate resorted to consuming industrial alcohols such as varnish, cleaners, and fuels.  Others turned to opiate drugs smuggled from Central Asia.Perhaps the most hardest hit by the vodka ban was the Russian Government itself, which saw a 1/3rd drop in tax revenues due to lost tax levies on the liquor.  This was especially devastating as it left the Russian Government short on cash to pay for war goods.  The ban also caused a nationwide drop in morale, and arguably could have been one of the many factors which led to the Russian Revolution in 1917.  The Vodka ban lasted 11 years, finally ending in 1924. -- source link

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