Russia today is considered one of the most drinking countries in the world. Some do not agree with this statement, others, on the contrary, are even proud of it, and others are neutral. But when did drinking establishments first appear in Russia? Who became the reformer? We will try to understand this issue further.
Drunkenness - the eternal vice of Russia?
Many people think that the drinking establishment already existed in the old days, having arisen, so to speak, from the very beginning of the formation of the state, and the Russian peasant already suffered from alcoholism then. But it's not. Russians used only low-alcohol drinks with a strength of no more than 1-6%: home brew, honey, beer, kvass. Their action quickly vanished. During the period of cultural ties with Byzantium, red Greek wine was imported to Russia, which was consumed only on church holidays among the “best” people of the principality. But these drinks were also not too strong - no more than 12%, and were consumed only diluted with water, just as they did in Greece and Byzantium. When did the first drinking establishments appear in Russia? Withwhat started it all?
Feast is a princely tradition
Old Russian epics, fairy tales and stories mention the princely feasts, where "tables were breaking". These were private feasts that the princes arranged for their boyars. Such gatherings were called "brothers", and women were not allowed to them.
But there were events at which the weaker sex was present, and such feasts in this case were called "pooling". Until now, such a word is found in oral speech: for example, “play pool”, which means to share the costs equally, buy something together, although more and more often such expressions are becoming a thing of the past. And we will return to our topic.
The most popular drinks at such events in Ancient Russia were:
- Red wine from Byzantium (before the Mongol-Tatar invasion).
- Beer.
- Kvass, which, in fact, was similar to beer in taste.
- Honey. The meaning of this word translated into modern language means "medovukha". Sometimes they made a clarification - "hoppy honey", but not always.
- Braga. In fact, it was made from honey, only it was added in smaller quantities, since there was no sugar then.
Drinks were made independently in every princely or boyar court.
"Do not drive away the Pitukhs!", or The first drinking establishments in Russia
The first official opening of the "bars" is not associated with the name of Peter the Great, as many maythink right away, but with another controversial character in our history - Ivan the Terrible.
After the capture of Kazan drinking establishments began to appear in Moscow and were called taverns. After some time, they began to call them "royal taverns", "circle houses". And only in the middle of the 18th century they received the definition of "drinking establishments".
With the opening of such establishments, drinks at home have ceased to be produced. Everyone wanted to spend time in a crowded place.
Very curious is the fact that the first official units of liquid measurement were named after measures from the first "bars": bucket, foot, mug, etc.
The very same word "tavern" of Tatar origin meant "inn". That is, initially these were the first hotels for guardsmen and soldiers, in which various alcoholic drinks were served.
But taverns began to attract the general population, and fees from the sale of liquor to the treasury exceeded all expectations.
"Pitukhov (from the word" drink ") from the king's taverns do not drive away, take the mug collection against the past with a profit," the state decree read. This means that the authorities of the Moscow State not only did not fight against drunkenness in the country, but, on the contrary, developed such establishments and encouraged alcohol consumption among the general population. The names of the drinking establishments were different: "Big Tsar's Tavern", "Inextinguishable Candle". But all of them were officially called "royal taverns", and since 1651 - "circle yards". And only in 1765 they received the namedrinking houses.
The first "dry laws" in Russia
The situation with drunkenness was so serious that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was forced to convene the Zemsky Sobor, which decided the fate of such "bars". Then the authorities wisely limited the number of such establishments, and allowed no more than one cup to be sold to take away. But to overcome the habit of the people is not so easy. Vodka was bought in buckets, as there were simply no bottles familiar today. One such container of "life-giving water" or "hot wine" contained about 14 liters of drink.
An interesting fact: the quality of vodka was determined by weight. If the bucket weighed 30 pounds (about 13.6 kg), then the alcohol was considered good quality, not diluted. If more, a harsh showdown awaited the owner. By the way, today you can also resort to similar verification methods. One liter of pure 40% vodka should weigh exactly 953 grams.
Taverns close - taverns open
Since 1881, there has been a qualitative change in the anti-alcohol policy of the state.
Taverns are closed from now on. But instead of them, a small drinking establishment appears - a tavern or a tavern (originally this term was applied to moonshine). There were several differences:
- In addition to alcohol, they began to sell snacks, which was not practiced before.
- A state monopoly was introduced in the country, which means that such an institution was obliged to take a special permit for the sale and purchase alcohol only from state-owned distilleriesenterprises.
Mendeleev "invented" vodka?
At this time, a special commission is convened, headed by the famous chemist D. Mendeleev. She decides how to instill a culture of drinking in the population in order to “teach them to look at vodka as an element of a feast, and not as a means of causing severe intoxication and oblivion.”
Apparently, this is why the myth is widespread in our country that it was Mendeleev who "invented" vodka. Actually it is not. It was only for the first time that this term, at the official level, began to be called a strong alcoholic drink. Prior to that, it was called differently: “boiled wine”, “bread wine”, “helmsman”, “fiery water”. The term "vodka" itself was considered slang before that, it came from the diminutive "water", "vodka" and was used only in relation to medicinal tinctures based on alcohol. Hence it is believed that our famous chemist "invented" vodka. But at the same time, it should be noted that Mendeleev deduced the modern optimal proportions of the drink: 40-45% alcohol, the rest is water.
Problems not resolved
The excise reform had the opposite effect: a high-quality product was replaced by cheap low-quality potato vodka, as several permitted factories worked either for export or for army medicine.
After the revolution, the sale of alcohol was completely banned, but since 1924, its sale was resumed. After that, there was still an attempt to introduce a "dry law" during the period of perestroika, but such a policy destroyed only high-quality alcohol in the country, and such republics as Georgia and Moldova were on the verge of bankruptcy,since the main percentage of their exports were wine materials and wine.
