The price of vodka in the USSR in different years. Popular brands

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Vodka is a product made from purified water and rectified alcohol. According to the established standards, GOST, its strength is from 40 to 50%, however, 40% is considered to be the generally accepted standard for the strength of this alcoholic drink.

Historical perspective

The exact historical time when this legendary alcoholic drink was created is unknown. Historical chronicles tell at least three main 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 told about it 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, Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev described in detail the processes of preparing an alcoholic aqueous solution similar in characteristics to vodka.

However, Dmitry Ivanovich himself was completely indifferent to this drink, that hetold in his book:

…I never drank vodka in my lifetime and even know its taste very little, no more than the taste of many s alts and poisons (Mendeleev D. I., 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 government of Soviet leaders are associated with it. Prices for this product reflected changes in the policy of the party and the Government of the USSR, testified to any significant events.

The first vodka of the Soviet Union

Until 1924, a dry law was in effect in the young Soviet country, introduced back in 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, as history shows, this was a dangerous and responsible act.

It is believed that the sale of the first Soviet vodka began on October 4, 1925 in Moscow. There were huge lines behind her. On average, each store sold up to 2,000 bottles per day.

The start of sales of strong liquor seriously affected the work of industry in the USSR. In the early days of the sale of vodka, the jobs of Soviet institutions, plants and factories lost many of their employees. The facts show that some enterprises have lost about 40% of the staff.

The first Soviet vodka was also the most popular vodka in the USSR. In everyday life, they began to call her "rykovka" - in honor of the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Alexei Rykov.

The bottle of vodka had a capacity of 0.5 liters. The price of vodka in the USSR was one ruble. Many said that the quality was poor.

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%. Over a long period of selling “rykovka”, various fortresses were recorded, from 30 to 42% degrees. This was explained by the fact that innovations were introduced in the process of producing vodka at distilleries, indicating that the Soviet authorities 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 to establish a Temperance Society. Thousands of demonstrations began to take place across the country, large rallies gathered. Anti-drinking posters were very popular. Children were also involved in the anti-alcohol campaign, who campaigned with posters with the inscriptions: “Daddy come home sober!”, “Daddy don’t drink!”, “Not alcohol, but bread!” etc.

But the excesses allowed provoked massive popular protests that opened a direct road to collapsevodka production - revenues to the budget could significantly decrease. By the end of the 30s of the 20th century, the sobriety societies were abolished by the leadership of the USSR.

Vodka and the Great Patriotic War

Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the production of vodka has reached a new level. The front-line soldiers were daily given the so-called people's commissar hundred grams. Historians say that drinking vodka at the front to some extent contributed to relieving tension, increasing stress resistance, and strengthening morale.

It should be noted that the German army also practiced issuing strong alcoholic drinks to soldiers as part of rations. However, this was not regulated, as in the Red Army. Moreover, the German soldiers noted that the increase in the norms for issuing schnapps was always associated with preparations for the offensive. This fact did not help raise morale, as the soldiers understood that there would be losses after the battle.

Systematic front-line 100 grams had negative consequences. After the victory, the fighters who returned from the fronts felt the need for daily use of vodka. Alcoholization in the USSR continued.

Post-war vodka and its prices

By the beginning of the 1950s, a certain price range for vodka had formed in the USSR. The most popular and cheapest vodka at that time was the so-called knot vodka.

It was based on hydrolytic alcohol obtained from the so-called black molasses - actually from wood saccharified by hydrolysis. The woody origin of the alcohol used to make 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 "Ordinary Vodka", it was poured into containers of 0.5 liters, the cork was cardboard, filled with red sealing 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 was called "white head" by the common people. It was a half-liter bottle, the cardboard cork of which was filled with white sealing wax. Its cost was 25 rubles 20 kopecks.

The price of Stolichnaya vodka in the USSR was 30 rubles 70 kopecks. Poured into a half-liter bottle with a high neck of cognac type. Its quality was much better, since it was mainly exported.

A new stage in the fight against drunkenness 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 drunkenness and bringing order to 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. The month of issue of the Decree was December, so those who sufferedfrom him, people called him "Decembrists".

Lenin's Vodka

The next increase in the price of vodka occurred in the early 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 anti-drinking campaign was launched, it has become for a long time the only vodka available on the market.

This vodka was allowed to be sold in the liquor departments of stores only from 11:00. This led to the fact that the people began to call it "Lenin". By analogy with the anniversary ruble, issued for the next memorable date. On the obverse of this coin, the leader of the world proletariat stands with his hand raised, which indicates the direction, similar to finding 11 o'clock on the dial.

In the mid-70s, other vodkas began to appear on the shelves of Soviet stores. Of these, "Wheat" and "Russian" were famous.

The price of Wheat vodka in the USSR was 4 rubles 42 kopecks. After the rise in price in 1981 - 6 rubles 20 kopecks. The price of Russian 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 attributed to the fact that the USSR began to experience serious financial difficulties withfilling the budget due to the Afghan war. According to financial analysts, the Soviet Union annually spent up to 3 billion US dollars on this military campaign. Foreign exchange earnings at this time fell seriously, as oil prices fell sharply since the end of 1980.

Andropovka is a nice gift to the people by reducing the price of vodka

Pleasant for the peoples of the USSR, a decrease in the price of vodka 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.

People dubbed it "Andropovka". But there were other names - "first-grader" and "schoolgirl", as she entered the outlets on the first day of the school year.

It was sold for a relatively short time, only 2 years, but it managed to become legendary thanks 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, another fight against alcoholism and drunkenness began. There were prerequisites for this - the people of the Soviet Union simply became an inveterate drunkard. 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 data, every year it was missing about 16 billion rubles, which was approximately 10-12% of its total volume. Shortage of strongalcoholic beverages, associated with the liquidation of vodka factories, led to gigantic queues 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 for vodka in the USSR changed quite seriously over the years - everything depended on the political situation in the country.