Vodka protests of 1858–1859

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The Vodka protests of 1858–1859 (Russian : трезвенное движение 1858—1859 гг.) were organized to boycott the sale and consumption of vodka in the Russian Empire.

Russian language East Slavic language

Russian is an East Slavic language, which is official in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as being widely used throughout Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was the de facto language of the Soviet Union until its dissolution on 25 December 1991. Although nearly three decades have passed since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russian is used in official capacity or in public life in all the post-Soviet nation-states, as well as in Israel and Mongolia.

Vodka alcoholic distilled beverage

Vodka is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage originating from Poland and Russia, composed primarily of water and ethanol, but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings. Traditionally, it is made by distilling the liquid from cereal grains or potatoes that have been fermented, though some modern brands, such as Ciroc, CooranBong, and Bombora, use fruits or sugar as the base.

Russian Empire former country, 1721–1917

The Russian Empire, also known as Imperial Russia or simply Russia, was an empire that existed across Eurasia and North America from 1721, following the end of the Great Northern War, until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.

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History

Russian state budget was depleted during the Crimean War (1853–1856) and the government increased the price for alcohol concessions which, in turn, led to nearly tripling of retail vodka prices to 8–10 rubles per bucket. [1]

Crimean War 1850s military conflict

The Crimean War was a military conflict fought from October 1853 to February 1856 in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain and Sardinia. The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, which was a part of the Ottoman Empire. The French promoted the rights of Roman Catholics, while Russia promoted those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The longer-term causes involved the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the unwillingness of Britain and France to allow Russia to gain territory and power at Ottoman expense. It has widely been noted that the causes, in one case involving an argument over a key, have never revealed a "greater confusion of purpose", yet they led to a war noted for its "notoriously incompetent international butchery".

A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity.

Russian ruble currency of Russia

The Russian ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation, the two partially recognised republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the two unrecognised republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks.

The protests originated in September 1858 in the Kovno Governorate, a Catholic province of Tsarist Lithuania, where local villagers took oaths to abstain from drinking vodka, and all other hard liquors except for 'medicinal purposes'. [2] Non-distilled alcohol, such as wine or beer, was still permitted. [2] Supported by the local Catholic clergy, the protesters established local chapters of the Brotherhood of Sobriety (Polish : Bractwo Trzeźwości), [2] a temperance society that originated in 1844 in Silesia and received official approval from Pope Pius IX in 1851. [3]

Kovno Governorate governorate of the Russian Empire

Kovno Governorate or Government of Kaunas was a governorate (guberniya) of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kaunas. It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Governorate, and the order was carried out on 1 July 1843. It was part of the Vilna Governorate-General and Northwestern Krai. The governorate included almost the entire Lithuanian region of Samogitia and the northern part of Aukštaitija.

Polish language West Slavic language spoken in Poland

Polish is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In addition to being an official language of Poland, it is also used by Polish minorities in other countries. There are over 50 million Polish language speakers around the world and it is one of the official languages of the European Union.

Silesia Historical region

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is about 40,000 km2 (15,444 sq mi), and its population about 8,000,000. Silesia is located along the Oder River. It consists of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia.

By early 1859, the protests had spread to the Orthodox population of the Empire, including much of European Russia, where more and more peasants took oaths of abstention from vodka. [4] In total, there were reports of the boycott actions from 91 uyezds in 32 governorates. [2] The newspaper Kolokol promoted the cause, denouncing the vodka tax farming system that promoted alcohol addiction and poverty among the population in return for tax revenues. [5] Alcohol sales plummeted, with prices dropping to 0.5 rubles a bucket, and in some localities retailers resorted to offering free vodka. [1] In Kovno Governorate, alcohol sales dropped by 70%. [2]

Russian Orthodox Church autocephalous Orthodox Christian church, headquartered in Moscow, Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The Primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'. The ROC, as well as the primate thereof, officially ranks fifth in the Orthodox order of precedence, immediately below the four ancient patriarchates of the Greek Orthodox Church, those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Since 15 October 2018, the ROC is not in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, having unilaterally severed ties in reaction to the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was finalised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 5 January 2019.

An uyezd was an administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR, which was in use from the 13th century. For most of Russian history, uyezds were a secondary-level of administrative division. By sense, but not by etymology, uyezd approximately corresponds to the English term county.

Kolokol was the first Russian censorship-free weekly newspaper in Russian and French languages, published by Alexander Herzen and Nikolai Ogaryov in London (1857–1865) and Geneva (1865–1867). It had a circulation of up to 2500 copies. Despite being banned in Russia, it was well known and had a significant influence on the reformist and revolutionary movements of the 1860s.

In May 1859, the protests turned violent, as taverns came under attack, and the army was called to suppress the movement. [4] The protesters were flogged and forced to drink by having liquor poured into their mouths through funnels, and then imprisoned as rebels. [6] Some 780 people were arrested [1] and temperance societies were outlawed in 1863. [7] The government replaced the alcohol concessions with an excise tax. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bosin, Yury V. (2009). "Russia, temperance movement, 1858–1860" (PDF). In Ness, Immanuel. International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 2927–2928. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Christian, David (2014). "The Black and Gold Seals: Popular Protests Against the Liquor Trade on the Eve of Emancipation". In Kingston-Mann, Esther; Mixter, Timothy. Peasant Economy, Culture, and Politics of European Russia, 1800-1921. Princeton University Press. pp. 264–265, 268. ISBN   9781400861248.
  3. ↑ Myszor, Jerzy (1981). "Ruch trzeźwości na Górnym Śląsku w latach 1844-1914" (PDF). Śląskie Studia Historyczno-Teologiczne (in Polish). XIV: 223–224, 228. ISSN   0137-3447.
  4. 1 2 Christian, David (1990). 'Living Water': Vodka and Russian Society on the Eve of Emancipation. Clarendon Press. p. 286. ISBN   9780191590764.
  5. ↑ Schrad, Mark (2014). Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State. Oxford University Press. p. 129. ISBN   978-0-199-75559-2.
  6. ↑ Schrad, Mark Lawrence (20 August 2013). "Boycotting Vodka Won't Help Russia's Gays". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Liekis, Šarūnas (2010). 1939: The Year that Changed Everything in Lithuania's History. On the Boundary of Two Worlds: Identity, Freedom, and Moral Imagination in the Baltics. Rodopi. p. 19. ISBN   9789042027626.
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