How the inhabitants of one village stopped drinking altogether

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In the photo: a sign at the entrance to the territory of the Ukteevsky village council of the Iglinsky district of Bashkiria.

Residents of the Bashkir village of Minzitarovo have been leading a sober lifestyle for four years now: the sale of alcohol and tobacco is prohibited here, only tea is poured on holidays, and at local gatherings, citizens are campaigning for a healthy lifestyle. The RIA Novosti correspondent traveled to Minzitarovo and learned how its residents are fighting for sobriety and whether it is possible to buy beer in local stores.

The territory of a healthy lifestyle

At the entrance to the village there is a large poster: "Territory of a healthy lifestyle". This is a reminder to residents and guests that alcohol is not drunk or sold here. The fight against drunkenness in Minzitarovo began back in 2013, when local deputies adopted their own amendment to the law on the sale of alcoholic beverages. Now in the village it is forbidden to sell alcoholic drinks and cigarettes within a kilometer radius of all administrative buildings.

"According to our law, shops have no right to sell vodka, beer, tobacco products a kilometer from a school, kindergarten, village council administration, or a house of culture," says the head of the village council Ilshat Mudarisov.

Former head of the village council Ilgam Imayev, who initiated the local law banning the sale of alcohol, says that at first almost no one believed in success.

"To be honest, few people believed that it would work out, but I think that a lot has worked out. All my friends and acquaintances during the competition declared a dry law in their families. I was a cultural drinker, but now I don't drink at all. They don't drink in my family, Neighbors, relatives do not drink. Of course, it is difficult to say for the whole village, but we have no drunks on the street, "says Imaev.

In his opinion, it is possible to establish sobriety in the villages if public opinion works.

"In Muslim villages, where people go to the mosque, where there are respected elderly people, it is possible to establish sobriety. Public censure works," Imayev said.

You can buy, but there is no demand

The RIA Novosti correspondent tried to buy alcohol in a nearby rural store. Behind the counter is a bored saleswoman, of the visitors only a little girl. When asked where you can buy beer, the woman threw up her hands.

Shop in the village of Minzitarovo in Bashkiria

“There has been no such product for almost four years,” she replied. True, she immediately advised me to drive further, to a small private store.

Indeed, both beer and vodka were on sale in a private shop. When asked why alcohol is sold in a sober village, the saleswoman did not find an answer. She only explained that the goods were on sale, but they were not in demand, and there was no fresh beer at all.

“Everything is prohibited here by law, but in Minzitarovo there is a private entrepreneur who does not respond to our calls and refuses to remove alcohol from the shelves. By the decision of the village council, we sent a statement to the consumer market administration to deprive this private owner of a license to sell alcoholic beverages, based on local law , - said Mudarisov.

New life

A resident of the village Ramil Shavaleev does not like to remember his past, drunken life, he says that everything was like a fog. Changes for the better began more than ten years ago, when he stopped drinking vodka, and last year he gave up cigarettes. Now in the village he is one of the most respected people.

"I drank hard, I couldn't stop. I think I would have died somewhere under the fence, I would have been stuck in the cold. But more than ten years ago, at the birth of my first granddaughter, I decided for myself that it would be enough to live like this. And since then I am the happiest the person most beloved by his wife, children and grandchildren. My life and the life of my loved ones were filled with happiness, it seems to me that now I see brighter, I hear better, it’s just joyful to live, "Ramil-agai says. And last year, the head of the Shavaleev family, during the potato harvest, symbolically buried the last pack of cigarettes." got angry with himself, crumpled this pack, threw it into a hole and buried it. So I quit smoking, never touched cigarettes again, "Ramil-agai shared his experience.

Ramil Shavaleev at his house

He and his wife Alfira raised two children, now they have five grandchildren. Ramil-agai himself is a jack of all trades: having quit drinking, he took up the household, lined the house, made repairs, built houses for his children, bought a car, and now the main earner in the family is building houses and baths.

"Now I have become a leader in the family - not only in my own, but also among brothers. People consult me, they listen to my opinion. I am glad about the fate of one guy here, his name is Salavat. He is young, they once drank together … But once I went to him and said: enough, give up this business! And he quit, now he got married, got a household, they have a child, they are building a bath, so I help him with this, "Shavaleev shared the joyful news.

How much does vodka cost?

"How much does vodka cost today?" - suddenly asks Mudarisov. It turns out that he is not joking. "I do not know the price of a bottle of vodka, but I know the price paid by people who drink alcohol. These are ruined lives, unhappy children, broken destinies … It's a shame to spend money on poison, I'd rather buy sweets - cookies and sweets," he says.

The head of the village council says that many villagers come to him and say thank you for campaigning for sobriety. Local entrepreneurs and farmers are also happy with the sober policy, moreover, they are ready to severely punish workers who allow themselves to drink, up to and including dismissal. “But there were no such cases, no one wants to lose their jobs,” Mudarisov says.

However, says Mudarisov, many criticize - they do not believe that the village deservedly received the prize. But the residents are not discouraged. “We are doing this for ourselves, and not to be praised. so we are grateful to those who are looking for a catch in our actions, he says.

Sports and sober holidays

Locals explain that the law was passed to educate a young, healthy generation. “It is difficult to re-educate an adult,” explains Mudarisov. “Everyone can come to a sober lifestyle on their own. …

House of culture in the village of Minzitarovo

Residents have relied on sports: every year a health forum is held in the village, in which young residents of Minzitarovo and neighboring villages participate. The older generation - as spectators.

“Only today we had a big sports festival, young people competed in running, wrestling, tug-of-war,” says the head of the village council.

In winter, a ski run and a tubing slide are opened here.

“Even people from other villages come to us to ride tubing, with children and families. All this is absolutely free.

“Recently, young families raised money, we attracted sponsors - local enterprises, now we are building a large playground on Molodezhnaya Street, where there are just a lot of children. We want them to have their own place to play,” the source said.

All holidays in the village are also spent without alcohol. “We began to revive local sabantui - these are all sober holidays. Especially at such events, we prepare porridge with meat in a large cauldron, pancakes and tea with herbs for all residents,” says the head of the village council.

According to him, residents like such holidays, so the village council is trying to organize leisure for the population. "So that, besides work, there was a place to relax, dance, participate in tournaments and just listen to music," explains Mudarisov.

Spring water instead of vodka

The spring, located on the mountain behind the village of Minzitarovo, is the pride of local residents. To make this place a tourist attraction where you can take guests, the local authorities decided to equip the spring with a convenient entrance, parking and recreation area.

The head of the Ukteevsky village council Ilshat Mudarisov shows the spring

"We plan to renovate the place of the spring so that it is convenient to draw water. We specially passed a water sample for analysis - it turned out to be clean, healthy and suitable for drinking. Now the villagers drink spring water, but so far the entrance to the spring is inconvenient. the road, there will be benches so that travelers can rest and drink from the spring water ", - shows Mudarisov, bypassing the spring.

While we were looking around the place, several families drove up in cars and filled the flasks with clean water. They say that tea made from this water tastes better and brews better.

Spring in the village of Minzitarovo

White grannies

The village council often organizes gatherings of citizens, at which they urge people to lead a healthy lifestyle.

“The entire population and the elderly, whom we affectionately call“ak inaezer, ak babayzar,”that is,“white grandmothers and grandfathers,”and the smallest residents, gather at such gatherings. It is also useful for them to listen to what we are talking about at such events. And most often we give lectures on the dangers of alcohol, nicotine and drugs. This also works, after these meetings people are simply ashamed to get drunk and walk the streets like that, Mudarisov says.

One of the most famous "ak iney" in Minzitarovo is Madina Gimadeeva. She has been retired for a long time, but continues to participate in the public life of the region, she is a member of the Kurultai of the Bashkirs of the Iglinsky region and does not get tired of praising the villagers.

Madina Gimadeeva and Ilshat Mudarisov

“What good people live in our village, so many young families, where they don’t drink or smoke, go to the mosque, raise children, build new houses and try to live better. In my neighborhood, all the neighbors lead a healthy lifestyle. and young, but we are always consulted, and we are happy to help him. I wish he could marry a good girl, "says the" white grandmother, "smiling.

Two hundred thousand rubles for sobriety

The Ukteyevsky village council with five villages - Minzitarovo, Ukteevo, Sart-lubovo, Klyashevo and Strye Karashidy - in 2013 became a prize-winner of the republican competition "Sober Village" and won 200 thousand rubles. The competition was initiated by the government of Bashkortostan, and the municipalities supported. Participated in the competition only at will. 80 rural settlements from 40 districts and cities of the republic fought for the title of the most sober village. Participants sent information reports with photographs and video attachments. The members of the competition commission went to the places to make sure of the sobriety of the population. The winners of the competition were the Ukteevsky village council, the Rakhmetovo village of the Baimovsky village council of the Abzelilovsky district and the Tyuryushevsky village council of the Buzdyaksky district.

The village of Minzitarovo in Bashkiria

The winners received cash certificates for 200 thousand rubles.

“The money went to a sports complex in a local school - now the children have a basketball court, a hockey rink. In addition, part of the funds were spent on road repairs and street lighting in villages,” Mudarisov said.

Four years later, he admits, the path to sobering up the population is still underway, but there are results.