Influence of alcohol consumption on the socio-economic situation of Karelian peasants on the eve of the First World War

The alcohol monopoly which existed in the Russian Empire at the turn of the XX century remains an important object of research for Russian historical science. In certain historical periods, the alcohol issue significantly influenced the determination of the development vector of the country's domestic policy. The relevance of this problem in modern Russia is obvious. The role of the alcohol monopoly in the formation of the socio-economic climate has been the subject of a large number of works in which the problem has been analyzed both on a national and regional scale. Russian materials are used for studying this topic for the first time, which determines the research novelty. The analyzed published statistical materials, archival data and information from the periodical press indicate a systematic increase in the supply of officially-sold alcoholic beverages to the region before the First World War. At the same time, an increase in alcohol consumption by the rural population of Karelia was recorded. The negative socio-economic consequences of these trends included significant financial losses suffered by the peasants. Concrete examples demonstrate how detrimental the impact of this outflow of finances was on the development of the peasant households. In addition, the negative impact of increased alcohol consumption on the moral character of the village was studied. However, in addition to negative factors, the study established a certain economic benefit from alcohol consumption for the peasants of the border townships in the Olonets province, which resulted from smuggling alcohol to Finland.