| Abstrakt: |
The present article characterizes the main principles and actions of the Committees of People’s Temperance in the province of Vidzeme. These Committees started to operate in 1900. In the same year a state monopoly on alcohol was enacted in Russia. The foundation of the Committees of People’s Temperance was an important part of the state’s new alcohol policy to set order in alcohol production industry in Russia together with the attempts to discipline daily alcohol consumption in the society. Unlike already operating temperance societies in Vidzeme, the purpose of these Committees was to restrain the society from the use of malicious alcohol exclusively. The Committees were subjugated to the Ministry of Finance and their actions were organized in two main directions: 1) due to the interests of the national budget, examining the locations of the violation of the rules of alcohol commerce by nominating special curators in every district of Vidzeme; 2) establishing alternative social venues beside liquor stores - tee-houses, libraries, reading-rooms with a possibility to arrange special lectures on undue alcohol consumption distress, hygiene, medicine, etc. and social entertaining measures. With these the Committees tended to compete with different private initiative based cultural and educational societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
