“Drunkenness – a fight”: how was a Soviet sobering-up stations. Photo

Every Soviet citizen was required to maintain a high moral character.

But not all of this order was fulfilled. Personality, drinking alcoholic beverages in public places, not only shirked the construction of communism, but also prevented others focus on the Essentials.

For expeditious clearance of the streets from the drunks in the early 30-ies across the country began to open sobering-up stations, some of which survived even until the XXI century. The experienced profligate mind to spend the night in the “receiver” had, but for ordinary citizens the visit to the sobering-up could result in serious problems at work.

At first, the sobering-up stations was supervised by the people’s Commissariat of health, and worked with them exclusively to physicians. They all subtleties contingent did not know, so sometimes there is funny situations. For example, it is not very clear had something to do with the seized alcohol. Most often unfinished in the morning returned to the violator of the peace, and he went to finish the job. Everything became much more serious when in 1940 Lavrenty Beria’s personal order moved the sobering-up stations in the subordination of the NKVD and the duty they have to bear and the police, and not just paramedics.

Yerevan is the only large Soviet city, where have not opened any detox. In Armenia they did not exist. In all other parts of the country organized by one specialized Agency to 150-200 thousand people.

Like any other organization, every detox was the plan. So by the end of the quarter a man in uniform was on duty almost all of the city’s dance halls and popular restaurants. And in the paddy wagon it was easy to prove, even if you missed no more than 2-3 shots. For help in catching drunks used to reward… coupons for scarce alcohol. In the period of Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign in Moscow for a year through the sobering-up stations were more than 300 thousand people. But serious achievements in the war against alcoholism is not brought.

Everyone arrived took away money and documents, photographed, recorded personal details, recorded the degree of intoxication. What followed next was unceremoniously stripped and cold shower. Those who could not calm down, were tied to their beds. The next morning, after Wake up call, the attendant has established the identity of the citizens who on the eve of to say anything about themselves could not, and spent a paramedic re-examination. Then the guests wrote out a receipt for services rendered (in the Brezhnev era — from 10 to 25 rubles) and sent on all four sides.

Warning about failure to pay for the services of detox.

Signal that a worker or a student spent the night in the drunk tank, went at the place of work or school instantly. This was followed by a party “study” and a severe reprimand. Over students threatened with expulsion, and working people could lose their bonuses, fall out of the queue for an apartment or to forget about discounted ticket to the sea.

In the sobering-up stations did not pick up minors, the disabled and pregnant women. Drunken military handed over to the office. The only category of citizens, which when detected in an indecent condition dovozil home and gave the family were knights of the highest orders of the Heroes of the Soviet Union. Alcoholics of order-bearers, as it was believed, was to treat their relatives.

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