Soviet detox — senseless and merciless

On August 12, 1999, it was decided to close all medical detox centers in Ukraine. In Russia, their number began to decline from the mid-1990s, and in October 2011, all remaining similar institutions were closed. So an entire era ended…

Let's remember how the Soviet detox centers worked – native homes for drunks and horror for ordinary citizens who accidentally drank too much.

Source: Kulturologia

Every Soviet citizen was ordered to maintain a high moral character. But not all of this prescription was fulfilled. Individuals drinking alcoholic beverages in public places not only shirked the construction of communism, but also prevented others from focusing on the main thing.

In order to promptly clear the streets of drunks in the early 30s, detox centers began to open all over the country, some of which even survived to the XXI century. Experienced drunks had nothing against spending the night in the "receiver", but for ordinary citizens, a visit to the detox could turn into serious problems at work.

At first, the detox centers were supervised by the People's Commissariat of Health, and only doctors worked in them. They did not know all the subtleties of handling the contingent, so sometimes comical situations arose. For example, it was not very clear what to do with the seized alcohol. Most often, in the morning, the unfinished drink was returned to the violator of public peace, and he went to finish the job he had started. Everything became much more serious when, in 1940, Lavrenty Beria, by personal decree, transferred the detoxification centers to the subordination of the NKVD and policemen, not only paramedics, began to be on duty in them.

Yerevan is the only major Soviet city where not a single detox has been opened. There were none in Armenia at all. In all other parts of the country, one specialized institution was organized for 150-200 thousand people.

Like any other organization, each detox had a plan. Therefore, by the end of the quarter, men in uniform were on duty at almost all city dance floors and popular restaurants. And it was easy to be in the paddy wagon, even if you missed no more than 2-3 glasses. For help in catching drunkards, they used to be rewarded... with coupons for scarce alcohol. During the anti-alcohol Gorbachev campaign in Moscow alone, more than 300 thousand people passed through detox centers in a year. But it did not bring serious achievements in the war against drunkenness.

Warning about non-payment for detox services.

A signal that a certain worker or student spent the night in a detox was sent to the place of work or study immediately. This was followed by a party "study" and a strict reprimand. The threat of expulsion hung over the students, and working people could lose their bonuses, fall out of the queue for an apartment or forget about preferential sea trips forever.