Первый всероссийский съезд по борьбе с пьянством 1909–1910 годов и его влияние на российское общество
The First All-Russian Congress on Combating Drunkenness in 1909–1910 and its Impact on Russian Society

Summary/Abstract: The First All-Russian Congress on the Fight against Drunkenness (St. Petersburg, December 28, 1909 — January 6, 1910, old style) was an important stage in the second temperance movement in Russia. The initiator of the convocation was the “Commission on the issue of alcoholism, measures to combat it and for the development of a normal charter for institutions for alcoholics” of the Russian society for the protection of public health. The government allowed the forum, but any attempts to turn it into a tool of revolutionary propaganda were harshly suppressed. Of the 453 members of the congress, 61,71% were from St. Petersburg, 7,01% from Moscow and the rest from the provinces. The largest socio-professional groups were doctors (163, 36,0%), teachers (27, 5,96%), clergy (26, 5,74%), as well as lawyers, civil servants, journalists, engineers, etc. There were always 150–200 deputies present. The reformist leadership of the forum managed to bring it to completion and adopt final resolutions that had important advisory value for the authorities and society: the guiding principle of the movement against drunkenness is complete abstinence from any alcoholic beverages; it is necessary to teach sobriety and student sobriety unions in schools; lectures on the dangers of alcohol for students; it is necessary for the population, including women, to participate in decisions on the closure/opening of places where alcohol is sold; to sober up the population, it is necessary to “replace the [state’s] drinking income with other sources of state income”. The significance of the congress: it influenced public opinion, the development of the temperance movement and the policies of the authorities in 1910–1914, which resulted in a decrease in public drunkenness, the spread of sober customs, the adoption of restrictive and educational anti-alcohol measures, which strengthened Russian society.

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