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Good afternoon, dear readers! While the information field is clogged with an outbreak of coronavirus and a decline in oil prices, I, being in self-isolation, decided to look into a more important issue.
What is the difference between Soviet vodka and modern. Well, yes, well, yes, it was the second week of self-isolation. And I hope that I will continue to be interested in such questions, and not in how to get an appointment with a doctor.
Do recipes and vodka production technologies differ in the USSR and now
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I am not one of those whose youth was spent under flourishing communism. Therefore, in order to understand how the recipe for Soviet vodka differed from Russian, I had to delve into history.
The very first GOST in the USSR was introduced on May 1, 1941. Hmm, maybe that’s why the Germans decided that the guys from the Red Army were already so harsh, and with GOST they would be completely invincible for vodka, and decided to attack before it was too late? But it still didn’t save them.
Because of the war, no one paid much attention to the recipe for vodka. People at that time drank alcohol without thinking about its quality, if only for a moment to escape from the horrors that were happening around.
In 1966, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. And just a year later, a new GOST for vodka was introduced.
It is interesting! There is a legend that Brezhnev drank vodka in three doses: 50 grams, then 100, and finally another 150. For those who could not drink at his pace, the Secretary General advised to switch to tea.
In GOST 67, it was indicated that vodka can only be made from food raw materials. Factories made alcohol from beets, potatoes and grain crops. At that time, the slightest deviation from the state standard manufacturers were punished by law. Therefore, the introduced GOST was strictly observed.
There were four classes of alcohol in the Soviet Union:
- luxury;
- extra;
- higher purification;
- alcohol of the first grade.
The first three classes were used specifically for vodka, and the fourth was sent for use only for technical purposes.
After the collapse of the USSR, of course, there was a period when there was a huge amount of “burnt” vodka. But now the situation has normalized, the state has taken control of production. The collapse of the country did not negatively affect the quality of factory products.
On the contrary, thanks to new technologies, two more standards have appeared – basis and alpha. The first is made from a variety of agricultural raw materials, and the second exclusively from the highest grade of wheat.
Attention! Now the most expensive and high-quality vodka is made from the Alpha variety.
To clearly answer the question of how vodka differs in the USSR and in modern Russia, I have collected the requirements of GOSTs in one table:
It turns out that modern vodka is better and better than the Soviet one? Not everything is so clear! Now, to buy good alcohol, you need to pay a lot of money.
One bottle of the same Beluga (Beluga) costs more than 1 thousand rubles. Of course, in the USSR there were no such technologies as now, but even drinking a bottle of Moscow Special for 2 rubles 87 kopecks, no one was blind and died.
A bottle of Beluga in a branded gift box
What vodka was the most popular in the USSR
There were about 50 brands of vodka in the USSR. After reading the nostalgic reviews of former citizens of the Union, I have compiled for you a small rating of the most purchased vodka items by a Soviet person.
- RUSSIAN VODKA (Russian vodka). This was the most famous brand in the USSR. Initially, the price for this product was about 4 rubles. After the rise in price in 81, one bottle began to cost one and a half rubles more.
- STOLICHNAYA (Capital). This brand has been produced since 1938. It was the “Stolichnaya” that was sent abroad. Therefore, in many Hollywood films of the last century, a bottle of this brand often flashed (especially if there were Russians in the plot).
- MOSKOVSKAYA (Moscow special). This vodka was produced even before the revolution. In the 20s of the last century, they decided to resume the production of Moskovskaya. In the late 70s and early 80s, this vodka was the cheapest in the Soviet Union.
- Embassy. Because of the name, this vodka was associated by a Soviet person with foreign countries.
- Crankshaft. This brand had the most uncomplicated label of all. On a green background was written “VODKA”. Many Soviet people did not even know that this was a “Crankshaft”.
Attention! There was also elite alcoholic products in Soviet times. For example, vodka GOLDEN PING (Golden Ring). One bottle of such joy cost about 15 rubles.
Also popular were the brands: “Sibirskaya”, “Extra”, “Pshenichnaya” and “Andropovka”.
Do the prices for modern vodka and vodka from the times of the USSR differ (adjusted for inflation)
Salaries in different times of the USSR were very different. In the 60s, the average salary was from 73 to 120 rubles, and in the 80s from 183 to 300 rubles.
Therefore, for example, let’s take the 70s, the average salary at that time was in the range of 120 rubles. For 2020, the average salary in Russia, according to Rosstat, is 48000 rubles.
The most expensive vodka in the USSR cost 15 rubles (Golden Ring). In Russia, for 2020, the most expensive brands are Absolut (Absolute) and Beluga (beluga). One bottle of vodka of one of these brands costs about 1000 rubles.
I don’t count collectible stamps. The most expensive collection vodka in Russia is Russo-Baltique. A bottle of this vodka is sold with the Dartz Prombron SUV. The set costs $1.
Thus, in the USSR, a bottle of the Golden Ring cost 12.5% of the average salary. In Russia, a bottle of “Absolut” (Absolute) costs 2.08% of the salary of an average Russian. It turns out elite vodka in the Soviet Union was more expensive than in Russia.
Now let’s deal with the budget category. As I already mentioned, the cheapest vodka in the USSR cost 2 rubles 87 kopecks (Moscow special). In Russia, from more or less normal budget brands, Putinka can be noted, the price of which is 240 rubles.
That is, in the Soviet Union, a bottle of the cheapest vodka cost 2.39% of the average salary. “Putinka” costs 0.5% of the average wage in our country. From this we can conclude that the prices for alcohol in the USSR were higher than in Russia.
The main differences between modern vodka and Soviet
Now let’s sum up. The most important and significant difference between Russian vodka and Soviet vodka is variety.
There are so many brands on the shelves of modern stores that if you set a goal to try everything, then in a week your liver will try to crawl out to ask you to stop. In the USSR, there were also several dozen names, but this cannot be compared with the current diversity.
GOST for vodka changed from 1941 to 2013. Will it still change? I think yes. After all, science does not stand still, and technology is constantly improving.
There were three types of alcohol in the USSR. In Russia, a fourth was added, which is the cleanest. Vodka made from Alpha is much better than any vodka made in the USSR. Drinks made from “Lux” and “Extra” are cheaper, but in quality they are, if not worse, then certainly not better than Soviet vodka.
The main difference between Soviet vodka and modern vodka is the strength and volume of containers. Previously, you could buy a three-liter bottle of vodka with a strength of 56%. Now the maximum allowable volume does not exceed 0.7 liters, and the speed should not exceed 40%. If you want something stronger, drink absinthe.
And this is not the whole range!
Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to your health. Take care of yourself!
Contrary to the popular opinion about the cheapness of vodka during the union, I proved by examples that alcohol in Russia is cheaper than in the USSR. If you disagree with this, then you can prove otherwise! Comments are open to everyone.