"To take all possible measures to eradicate the sale of alcoholic beverages among the foreign population..."

Arkhipova Alena Ivanovna PhD in History Scientific Associate, Institute for Humanities Research and Problems of the Indigenous Peoples of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences       677027, Russia, respublika Sakha (yakutiya), g. Yakutsk, ul. Petrovskogo, 1 ali-titova@rambler.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The problems of studying the experience of combating drunkenness in the Russian Empire in the second half of the XIX-XX centuries continue to be in the field of view of researchers. This is due to the fact that alcoholism is also a serious social problem in modern society.

On the territory of the national outskirts of the Russian Empire, there were special rules for the sale of alcoholic beverages. The organization of drinking establishments at a distance closer than 50 versts from the gold mines was prohibited, on the basis of special rules issued by the Ministry of Finance, a device at salt springs was allowed ^[11]. The sale of alcohol in the camps and fairs of Siberian nomadic and wandering foreigners was prohibited. The foreigners themselves could purchase wine for home consumption in places of permitted sale. At the same time, according to sources, during the period under review, cases of violations of the law and the clandestine import and sale of alcohol and other beverages were quite common. Quite a lot of material devoted to the settlement of this problem has been postponed in the office of the governors.

The Yakut region was the largest region of the empire and occupied almost a third of the entire Eastern Siberia. Since the middle of the XIX century, a governor has been appointed at the head of the region consisting of five districts (Yakut, Vilyuysky, Olekminsky, Verkhoyansky and Kolyma). A specific feature of the region was the low population density dispersed throughout the territory, complex transport communication both within the region and with the center of the general government. The governor, as an official, was responsible for the welfare of the population of the region, as can be seen from the analysis of office documentation, one of the actual concerns of the governors was to limit the distribution of alcoholic beverages among the foreign population. The article discusses the activities of the regional administration aimed at limiting the distribution of "hot" drinks, especially in the northern districts of the Yakut region (Verkhoyansk and Kolyma).

The main part

Prior to the establishment of the post of governor, the regional head I. D. Rudakov (1834-1845) drew attention to the problem of the distribution of alcohol in the region. In 1844, during the audit of the region by Senator I. N. Tolstoy, the regional head reported that it was necessary to prohibit the import into the region and the sale of all kinds of "hot" drinks.

The first Yakut governor K. N. Grigoriev (1852-1856) sent out an order banning the import of alcohol into foreign camps. He instructed the elders to strictly monitor its execution, and at the slightest detection of violations to conduct an investigation, to present the guilty to the court. Governor V. P. de Witte (1869-1876) noted that alcohol consumption leads the local population to poverty and misery. One of the documents of the local administration says: "alcohol and wine are secretly imported into the Yakut camps for sale, gifts and exchange for vital products and other items ..." ^{[2, l. 28]}. In order to comply with the law and solve this problem, the governor ordered the Yakut city and district police departments to take special "subscriptions" from merchants that they would not import alcoholic beverages into the areas of Nelkan, Ust-May, Uchur and other habitats of nomadic and wandering foreigners. He ordered to organize strict control over the implementation of the order, and if violations of the law are detected, take the following measures: for the first time, fine in the amount of 10 to 300 rubles; for the second time, in addition to the fine, arrest for a period of three weeks to three months and confiscate drinks. Penalties were also provided for persons responsible for supervision in case of non-compliance. With information about these measures, an announcement was published, replicated and sent to the locations of foreigners. In particular, in the area of Nelkan, the watchman of the reserve store was instructed to place this ad and strictly monitor its implementation. The effectiveness of the measures taken is questionable, since the report of the watchman of the reserve store stated that the Yakuts pass with "hot" drinks without any evidence, I go to the taiga to the Tungus for many miles, they are soldered by depriving them of fishing. The Vilyuysky district police officer wrote that in fact many orders of the authorities on the control of the execution of the law in foreign councils "remain on paper with a dead letter" ^{[3, l.1]}. Archival documents show that a generic foreman was noticed in the violations, who came with wine under the guise of treats and received cattle in return, Cossacks who went on business trips in the service, etc.

In 1873, the governor obtained the consent of the Governor-General to apply part of the restrictions on the import of alcoholic beverages for the Yakut District as well. For violation of orders prohibiting the export of more than "one bucket in a half-tank", responsibility was assumed ^{[4, l.48]}. The order was sent to uluses, naslegas, tribal administrations and was voiced at lay gatherings, members of the society confirmed with their signature that they had read this order.

During the period under review, one of the important channels of communication between local authorities and the center was the annual governor's reports sent to the emperor. In a report for 1891, V. Z. Kolenko (1889-1892) reported that the decrease in the receipt of furs from the Kolyma district was due, among other things, to the spread of alcohol among the main suppliers of Chukchi. Americans arrive on merchant and whaling ships and exchange furs for guns, gunpowder, boilers, axes, needles, and rum. For rum, they gave the best furs, which had previously been received by the Kolyma merchants. At the same time, he noted that the administration does not have the tools to counter this.

V. N. Skrypitsyn (1892-1903) paid great attention to the problem of alcohol distribution among foreigners. The governor regularly reviewed the subordinate territory, traveled a lot around the districts, actively communicated with the local population. During the audit of the northern districts, he revealed the problem of excessive alcohol consumption by the population and the lack of control over its receipt and sale. The governor was limited in his powers, so he sent his proposals, projects and petitions to the Irkutsk Governor-General for consideration and approval. V. N. Skrypitsyn consistently petitioned the Governor-General, relevant ministries and departments with a proposal to completely ban the import of alcoholic beverages to the northern districts of the region and the nomads of the Tungus. He confirmed that the proposals of his predecessors on the need to ban the distribution of alcohol are fully justified and the arguments they give are confirmed. He pointed out the need to establish the sale of wine in the Vilyui district from state or public shops, and not through private merchants. According to the documents, the local population was aware of the problem of alcohol distribution. In the case materials, it was noted that with the presence of two drinking establishments in Verkhoyansk, the inhabitants of the ulus spent annual income from crafts and contracts on the purchase of alcohol, some residents additionally sold livestock necessary for the farm ^{[5, L. 9]}. Individual societies drew up sentences at general meetings on the closure of drinking establishments in Verkhoyansk and the prohibition of the sale of alcohol in the city and sent them to the authorities for approval.

The Governor-General recognized V. N. Skrypitsyn's proposals on a complete ban on the import of alcohol into the northern districts as contrary to the current legal provisions and impractical in practical terms, because of the Russian population living in them. An extract from the journal of the Council for the State Sale of Drinks dated May 19, 1901 was sent to the governor, according to which it was supposed to keep the trade in strong drinks in "Verkhoyansk and Kolymsk, as in cities with a Russian element" ^{[6, L. 10]}. In response to this, the governor stressed that Verkhoyansk and Kolymsk are considered cities only in name, the population of the former barely exceeded 300 people, the latter 500. Russians in these localities are represented by several dozens of petty bourgeoisie and a small team of Cossacks, also suffering from addiction to alcohol. According to the governor, in the absence of control over the actual use of alcohol purchased by Russians, the main consumers will be foreigners.

The emperor drew attention to the governor's report, and opposite the lines on the prohibition of the import of alcohol to the northern districts, he left a resolution: "What has been decided?". After consideration of the imperial resolutions at a meeting of the Committee of Ministers, the local administration, together with the excise department, prosecutor's supervision, knowledgeable persons, recommended to develop measures aimed at establishing order in the issue of alcohol trade. These measures were planned to be taken into account when organizing the state sale of wine in the Yakut region, which at that time was under development.

During the management of V. N. Skrypitsyn, while maintaining the volume of supplies, a special type of drinking establishments and public wine shops was introduced. From the profit of the shops, 25% was deducted for the formation of a loan fund for foreigners. In 1899, there were already 4 shops, the profit of which amounted to 1000 rubles.

To control the import of alcoholic beverages to the northern districts, a thorough inspection of the cargo and baggage of arrivals was organized. Headed by the manager, a commission was created with the involvement of witnesses, and a special act was signed at the end of the inspection of things. Lists of persons who had the official permission of the governor to transport alcohol in the current year were delivered to district police officers from the Yakutsk regional board. Despite some successes achieved in establishing control over the sale of alcohol, in his last report for 1902, V. N. Skrypitsyn again pointed out the need to completely stop the import of alcohol to the northern districts.

When reviewing the gold mines of the Vitim and Olekminskaya systems, V. N. Skrypitsyn revealed serious violations in the supply of alcohol to the mines. The issued certificates for the transportation of alcohol remained in the hands of suppliers, did not return to the administration, as a result, the management did not have real data on the turnover of the transferred alcohol. Gold miners prescribed alcohol for more workers than were actually on the lists, the resulting surpluses were resold to contractors who supplied timber materials and cargo. The police officers, instead of organizing control, wrote out additional certificates on their own behalf, and sold alcohol arrested for one reason or another to industrialists. Also, Cossacks took part in the illegal turnover of alcohol, who took away the illegally transported alcohol, and gave it to the nearest gold miner, receiving an award for it. Traders caught in this way were punished with rods and expelled from the taiga without reporting violations to the administration.

The new regulation "On the state sale of drinks" in the Russian Empire was approved on June 6, 1894 and affected only four provinces, subsequently covering other regions within ten years. The state sale of alcohol in the Yakut region was introduced on July 1 , 1904 .At the same time, in Siberia, in sparsely populated areas, the state monopoly extended to wholesale trade, in the Yakut region, the fragmented sale of drinks was kept in the hands of private traders. In the conditions of the implementation of the state-owned wine monopoly, restrictions on the sale of alcohol at fairs and camps of nomadic and wandering foreigners remained. The import and sale of strong drinks "with the exception of those intended for medical purposes only, at the request of doctors" and with the special, each time, permission of the governors, was prohibited. The legislation of June 6, 1904 outlined special rules for the release of wine to workers by local gold producers and "despite the objections of the Yakut governor and the Irkutsk Governor-General, this case, as before, was concentrated in the hands of gold producers and under the control of local officials dependent on them" ^{[1, p. 1485]}.

The difficulty of exercising control over the sale of alcohol is demonstrated by one of the reports to the district police officer from the foreign administration of the Verkhoyansky district. The police department ordered the board to strictly suppress the import, import, sale, purchase and storage of strong drinks on the basis of the highly approved opinion of the State Council published in the Yakut regional Gazette, in response to this, the foreign board reported that this newspaper had not been received by the board with the published resolution, and they were not familiar with it ^{[7, L.1]}.

Governor I. I. Kraft (1906-1913) also carefully monitored the implementation of the ban on the sale of alcohol in camps and at fairs of foreigners. In his ads, he emphasized that drunkenness and card games destroy the material well-being of the local population. He ordered the police and foreign authorities to take all possible measures to eradicate the sale of alcoholic beverages among the foreign population, mercilessly pursuing trade ^[8].

According to the data of 1908-1910, the average alcohol consumption per capita in the center of the Russian Empire was 0.595 buckets of vodka, and in the Irkutsk province and the Yakut region was 0.864 buckets. As for the effectiveness of the measures taken, it is worth noting that for the northern districts the facts of smuggling were regular. This is explained by the prices of alcohol, in the periodical press of that time the following prices for a bottle of alcohol are given: in Yakutsk 1 p., while in the northern districts in Kolymsk or Verkhoyansk 8-10 p. ^{[12, p.10, 19]}.

In August 1914 Irkutsk Governor-General L. M. Knyazev issued an order prohibiting the sale and use of strong drinks outside commercial state institutions with a patent and permit. Storage and sale of alcohol were allowed only in special dishes with "undisturbed" seals and seals. It was published on the basis of paragraph 3 of Article 26 of the "Regulations on measures to protect public order and public peace" in the Irkutsk and Yenisei provinces and the Yakut region ^{[14, p.2]}. On August 5, the Governor-General issued a mandatory decree for peasant villages of the Irkutsk and Yenisei provinces and the Yakut and Trans-Baikal regions, according to which drinking was prohibited alcoholic beverages on the streets, roads, squares, appearance in a state of intoxication, sale and storage of beverages to individuals in their premises ^{[15, p. 2]}. For violation, an arrest for up to three months or a fine in the amount of 500 rubles was assumed. On September 19, an addendum to this decree was issued, according to which its effect extended to Cossack and foreign villages. Control over the resolution of cases of violations remained with the governors. These resolutions were published in the Yakut regional Gazette.  

Cases of illegal delivery of alcohol were recorded in the acts on inspection of goods delivered to the northern districts in order to detect illegal import of alcoholic beverages ^[9]. The inspections revealed a lot of violations, according to the act of November 25, 1915, compiled by the Kolyma district police officer, a wooden box was found at the merchant N. N. Berezhnov, in which, upon opening, it turned out: 34 bottles of Maraskinr liqueur with a volume of ? liter each, 2 bottles of Banana liqueur, 14 bottles of Peppermint liqueur, 11 bottles of liqueur "Apricotin". Among others, postmen tried to transport alcohol. The amount of imported alcohol did not decrease, in January 1915. 8 buckets and 11 bottles of alcohol were seized in the Verkhoyansk district ^{[10, l. 1]}.

         Alcohol smuggling continued, the "dry law" had tragic consequences and the population used alternative products, so in May 1915 in Srednekolymsk three residents died from the use of cologne ^{[13, p. 432.]}

         Conclusion

The governor was the conductor of government policy in the province, exercised control over the implementation of legislation. The governors noted that the uncontrolled spread of alcohol negatively affects the development of the region and may contribute to the extinction of the indigenous population. Officials who regularly went to audit the territory and could personally analyze the quality of life of the population were particularly concerned. The governor gave instructions to district police officers and police departments about the need for strict supervision of the implementation of the law, they in turn distributed them in their districts and demanded execution from foreign departments. According to sources, there was often no proper control at the level of tribal administrations and foreign administrations, violations were detected everywhere. The governors tried to use the potential of the governor's reports to draw the attention of the highest authorities to the need for a complete ban on the import of alcohol into the northern districts of the region. Even before the introduction of the state sale of alcohol in the Yakutsk region, the governors indicated the need for this measure. The local administration considered that the legislative measures taken to prevent the population from getting drunk were insufficient, did not take into account the peculiarities of the region, the sparseness of Yakut cities, and a small percentage of the Russian population. The administration of the Yakutsk region took the initiative of a complete ban on the import of alcohol into the northern districts, the establishment of restrictions on distribution in other districts.