Public control of alcohol trade in Russia (1863–1894)

The article considers the state initiatives aimed at the inclusion of public institutions in regulating the free turnover of alcohol, and the results of their application. The paper notes that the society, despite the government plans, failed to control alcohol trade and did not manage to neutralize the negative effects of alcohol liberalization. The continuing search for an optimal method of public administration of alcohol trade has led the legislators to establish provincial and district drinking authorities in the mid-1880s. On the basis of a wide range of archival sources, the authors show that drinking authorities of some provinces resorted to strict regulation of the number of drinking establishments, the others ignored the accepted rules. The authors have made a conclusion that the government failed to create an effective system of public control in the excise period. While changing to the official alcohol monopoly, temperance forces of society were being accumulated by funds caring of people's sobriety