Sober up by looking at these Russian and Soviet anti-booze ads

The first anti-alcohol campaign in Russia was ignited by the peasants in 1858. They revolted throughout the country’s 32 regions, destroying countless inns in protest against the government’s alcoholization policy. The peasants were against more and more inns and bars appearing in villages. The government opened the watering holes to raise more taxes and fill the country's budget after the devastating Eastern (Crimean) war, but the peasants saw because of drinking, they become impoverished and lazy. So the revolts were not against taxes, but against the very fact of selling booze. Only the army could quell the violence.

During the second half of the 19th century the first sobriety groups started appearing, organized by the intelligentsia and medics. Anti-alcohol magazines were published and some limitations were placed on the sale of alcohol. During the early 20th century, campaigns to prevent school children drinking also appeared, showing there was a problem with alcoholism among the youth.

The problem was considered so serious that Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich himself, a member of the Russian Imperial family, became  the chairman of Russia’s Teetotaller Union. From August 1914 Nicholas II banned the production and sale of alcohol.

In 1917 the Soviet government banned vodka, wine, and beer production, but from the beginning of the 1920s, the ban was gradually lifted.

There were three major anti-alcohol campaigns in the USSR - in 1958, in 1972, and the most remembered one, the Gorbachev campaign of 1985-1990. It was unprecedented in scope: The sale of alcohol was slashed (vodka could only really be purchased in exchange for alcohol stamps), production reduced, and militia inspected the parks and streets, fining and detainting those caught in the act.