Many people know about the front (they are the People's Commissars, or Voroshilov's) 100 grams. The daily vodka ration received by the soldiers of the Red Army became a symbol of Victory along with the T-34 tank or the Katyusha rocket launcher. He guarded the soldiers from frost, disease, fear of death, and severe psychological stress. Today, thanks to declassified documents, we can find out exactly how justified was the regular distribution of alcohol in Soviet combat units.
Bastards in the cold
The concept of "People's Commissar 100 grams" was born in January 1940, during the Soviet-Finnish war. The actions of the Red Army were affected by severe cold and massive frostbite of personnel. Sick fighters were taken to hospitals, where each was given a little diluted alcohol to drink as a medicine. Front-line doctors turned to the People's Commissar of Defense Kliment Voroshilov with a request: to prevent frostbite, introduce into the daily diet of soldiers and officers 100 grams of vodka (a dose that could not cause strong intoxication) and 50 grams of bacon. Voroshilov reported this to the head of state, Joseph Stalin, who approved the idea, after which the troops received a corresponding order.
For tankers, due to a long stay among cold iron, the rate was doubled, and for the pilots, vodka was replaced with brandy.
Especially for the front at the distilleries, the production of 100-gram bottles of alcohol, which was popularly called bastards, was dramatically increased.
According to the report of the head of the rear of the Red Army, General Andrei Khrulev, during the Soviet-Finnish war, which lasted 3.5 months, soldiers and officers drank 10,057,500 liters of vodka and 88,800 liters of brandy.
Veterans recalled that the vodka was not of a particularly high quality - diluted alcohol without additional distillation. In the cold, the water froze, and in a small bottle drops of alcohol floated among the pieces of ice, so the git had to be warmed up near the body before use.
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First points of reception of glass containers
They returned to the already tested practice in July 1941. The position of the Soviet troops was extremely difficult: the army was continuously retreating. A letter from Anastas Mikoyan, a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, who is responsible for the food supply of the Red Army, has survived. On July 20, 1941, he proposed to Stalin a draft decision of the State Defense Committee (GKO): to raise morale, daily to issue 100 grams of 40-degree vodka to the Red Army soldiers and commanding staff.
Stalin made an important amendment to the draft: alcohol should only be received by the troops of the first line - that is, the direct participants in the battles. The rear services were not entitled to vodka. In this form, the GKO decree was sent to the troops on August 22, 1941.
The dispensing of alcoholic rations was supposed to begin on September 1, but the first batches of vodka, on the personal order of Mikoyan, arrived at the army units on July 25 - long before the official decision. Large oak barrels, milk cans and standard wooden crates with glass bottles were used to transport alcohol.
The responsibility for the supply of alcohol lay with the front commanders. They were obliged to ensure the strictest order - so that vodka was issued only to combat units and at the same time any abuse was excluded.
On August 25, 1941, the same Andrei Khrulev, who became Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, signed order No. 0320, specifying the GKO decree. Together with the fighters fighting on the front line, the pilots, as well as the engineering and technical staff of the airfields, received vodka. Alcohol was transported to the front in railway tanks, at the stations it was poured into barrels and sent to specific units.
For the manufacture of a large number of oak barrels, a special decision of the State Defense Committee allocated 150 tons of nails, 25 tons of rivets, 80 tons of metal tape and 600 tons of hoops.
Glass containers, in which part of the vodka was stored and transported, turned into a strategic raw material within a few months - all glass factories worked only to ensure this defense order.
The task of the food supply department of the Red Army was to ensure the return of at least half of the glassware and 80% of the barrels.
By the way, it was at this time in the USSR that the first points for receiving glass containers from the population appeared, which then existed for many years.
Only after the fight
It was not in vain that the GKO decree mentioned the suppression of any abuse. At first, vodka was given out just before the battle. Moreover, due to human losses, its number for the remaining soldiers increased. Film director Pyotr Todorovsky said in his memoirs that in August and September 1941 the foreman of his company walked along the trench with a bucket and a mug - and each soldier drank as much as he wanted. Those who already had combat experience usually refused, and the recruits drank "for courage" - and died first, forgetting about caution.
Pilots who have passed the war say about the same: many pilots, having taken alcohol, could not make the necessary maneuver and died along with the car. There is a known sad case in the Northern Fleet, when the submarine Shch-402 under the command of Captain A. M. Kautsky - due to the fact that the drunken chief of staff did not inform the crew of the torpedo boat on duty about its passage through the patrolled territory, and the boat was shot by Soviet sailors.
The German command tried to use such facts for propaganda purposes. In 1941, leaflets were scattered for Soviet fighters, which said that they were specially soldered so that they could be easily sent to their deaths. But these words caused sincere laughter among the Red Army men.
Soon, strict order was established in the issue of alcohol supply. Vodka, with rare exceptions, began to be issued after the battle - to relieve stress and fatigue, and in winter - to fight the frost. In addition, alcohol helped fight the painful shock of injuries.
For special vodka merits
In May 1942, the State Defense Committee decided to change the vodka dispensing norms. Anastas Mikoyan's new project provided that only those who succeeded in fighting the enemy would receive it, while their rate increased to 200 grams per day. But Stalin corrected this proposal: 100 grams will remain unchanged, but they will be given only to units conducting offensive operations. The rest of the military was entitled to alcohol only 10 days a year during public holidays, including Athlete's Day.
On June 12, 1942, the order of the People's Commissariat of Defense N94070 "On the procedure for storing and issuing vodka to the troops of the active army" was issued. The document noted that cases of illegal dispensing of vodka have become more frequent, and product accounting and control over its consumption are at a low level. The order placed responsibility for the storage and consumption of alcohol on the military councils of the fronts and armies, as well as personally on their commanders and commissars. In addition, they set monthly limits for each front (for example, the Leningrad Front had to spend no more than 533,000 liters of vodka per month, the Western Front - 980,000,000, Voronezh - 381,000,000, etc.).
True, already on November 12, 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the issuance of a 100-gram vodka ration was resumed for all fighters, regardless of whether they were defending or advancing. The rear personnel and the wounded were entitled to 50 grams a day. On the Transcaucasian front, taking into account the customs of the military contingent, soldiers were given 200 grams of port or 300 grams of dry wine each.
The same Anastas Mikoyan insisted on changing the norm, drawing Stalin's attention to the fact that the winter of 1942-1943 turned out to be as cold as in 1939-1940, when the war with Finland was taking place, and alcohol became a necessary tool for survival in the trenches …
Later, on September 30, 1943, Anastas Mikoyan was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle medal for special services in supplying the Red Army.
Waves of the Blue Danube
The last significant change in the norms for issuing vodka rations occurred in November 1943 - after the Battle of Kursk and a radical turning point in the war. The norms of 100 grams on the front line and 50 grams in the rear were confirmed, the list of recipients included the railway troops and the NKVD, but the main thing was that the decision about which units would receive alcohol was now taken by the military councils of the fronts or individual armies.
The issue of vodka in military units was canceled only in May 1945 - in connection with the surrender of Germany. But the regular supply of alcohol to the soldiers had consequences in post-war life. Millions of people returned from the front, accustomed to regular drinking. They could not be called alcoholics - but they certainly had a craving for daily drinking. Many former soldiers became disabled during the war, lost their families or homes. They faced the fact that their fearlessness and acquired military skills were no longer in demand. All these people needed psychological support, including from each other.
On March 18, 1946, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved the five-year plan adopted by the government, one of the peripheral points of which was the development of a network of cafes and snack bars.
A huge number of pavilions appeared in cities and towns where they sold beer and vodka. They were painted in a standard blue color, which is why the people called each such pub "Blue Danube". Former front-line soldiers gathered here - and alcohol again became a miracle cure for them, allowing them to overcome any difficulties.
Nikolay MIKHAILOV