 |
| Anti-alcohol poster |
This is a
fourth month of anti-alcohol campaign in USSR.
Let me
remind you a subject with a help of Wiki:
“During
1985-1987 Mikhail Gorbachev carried out an anti-alcohol campaign with partial
prohibition, colloquially known as the "dry law". Prices
of vodka, wine and beer were raised, and their sales were restricted in amount
and time of day. People who were caught drunk at work or in public were
prosecuted.”
This
measures were solidly supported by all Soviet people. Or not?
“Innocent turnover”
– “Не винный товарооборот.” (a
game of words: “non-wine” sounds like “innocent”)
«Measures, focused
on struggle with drunkenness, meet total approval and support everywhere.
Restriction of wine sales dictates a new demands, makes to invent new forms of
trade.» (i, 1.07.85)
Oh, they
really can’t imagine what “forms of trade’ will be invented in next years! But let us not jump ahead.
Nevertheless
some individuals ask uncomfortable questions.
Here is a
letter to “The week”:
«It is very difficult to buy wine in our town
– on Saturday I stood a line for 1.5 hours! Why should decent men suffer because
of some dipso?»
Newspaper
publishes a question and a large answer, edificatory telling off reckless
citizen:
«Your position deserve not sympathy, but
damnation. Try, till it is not late, look at it from another point of view, and
we hope, you will change your opinion.» (W, №31)
 |
| Queue to wine shop. Since April 1985 it becomes common |
All the deviations
in understanding of alcohol policy are suppressed. Here is a piece of interview
with prosecutor of a Moscow
region:
«With all
might of a law»
“ What do you
think about such expression as “cultural drinking”?
- You mean,
cultural bibation? It is absurd and unthinkable idea like honest theft, gentle
hooliganism, honorable fire-setting, refined poaching!” (W, №27)
This man of
law seems to be a poet! But the questions for such a big person are not
accidental, it means not everybody agreed with party line and it was time to
remind them they are wrong.
There were
people to be sad – wine manufacturers.
Their
business goes not well.
So far in June
becomes clear that the year plans fail. Here is an article about winery in Krasnodar (russian name
of enterprise - «Заготплодопереработка».)
“Guilty
without a wine” - «Без вина – виноватые» (game of words with Russian proverb “без вины виноватые”
“guilty without a crime”)
“Why a former
wineries meet a difficulties to fulfill a plan?”
….Yes, soft drinks still are lossmaking
production. What is a way out? It seems, it is in increasing of soft drinks production.
….But the retail trade doesn’t consume all production from the plant already.
Trade is not ready to work in a new conditions. So, as we see, “nonalcohol’
perestroika goes hard. May be, we will meet more problems later.” (i, 11.07.85)
Soft drinks
couldn’t fill the capacity of this plant. As it is said in an article, they start
producing jam and jelly.
The workers
must be passed off alcohol to more cultural amusement. But not everything is fine!
«Saturday
in a city park. Why there not enough attractions.»
«Park in Donetsk is one of the
best in the country. The man can sail a boat on a pond, visit a concert, go to
a playground or attractions. ….But sometime the park distresses the visitors.
It is sad to see a long queue to attractions, suffering under hot sun.
“There is
not enough of them – a park director says, - today we cover one-third of
demand…”
One more
problem arises in the evening park. Here and there you can see some cherry-merry
persons.”
 |
| Park in Donetsk, modern foto, http://www.2do2go.ru |
Comrade, stop
drinking! What is on TV this month? Coming soon…
Sourcing,
compilation and translation – Nikolai Prokopiev
Abbr.:
i – Izvestia/Известия
W – The
week/Неделя
O – Ogonek/Огонек
P – Pravda/Правда
KP – Komsomolskaya
Pravda/”Komsomolka”/Комсомольская Правда
This post
in Russian: http://nigula-spb.blogspot.ru/2015/07/30-1985_27.html
Previous
post: July 1985 Steps of Acceleration. http://nigula-spb.blogspot.ru/2015/07/back-to-ussr-july-1985-steps-of.html
About this
project http://nigula-spb.blogspot.ru/2015/07/ussr-30-years-ago-1985-1991.html
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