Episode 25: Defeating the Demon Drink. The Tale of Ivan Churikov

About this episode

This episode explores the vodka problem in the late Russian Empire through the story of Ivan Churikov and his struggles with the Orthodox Church and alcohol policies.

Everyone in the late Russian Empire was in agreement: the country had a vodka problem. But what were its causes and how should it be dealt with? For answers, many turned to Ivan Churikov, a peasant who became a St Petersburg faith healer after suffering personal tragedy. But his attempts to form a sobriety movement involved him in an endless struggle with the Orthodox Church, one that occasionally cost him his freedom. In this episode, we follow Churikov and his struggles, looking at the alcohol policies of the imperial Russian state and the civic activism that tried to save the empire from drowning in a sea of vodka. Sources P. Herrlinger, Holy Sobriety in Modern Russia: A Faith Healer and His Followers (Ithaca and London: Northern Illinois University Press, 2023) P. Herlihy, The Alcoholic Empire: Vodka and Politics in Late Imperial Russia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). P. Herlihy, ‘The Russian Vodka Prohibition of 1914 and Its Consequences’ in E. U. Savona, M. A. R. Kleiman, and F. Calderoni, eds., Dual Markets: Comparative Approaches to Regulation (Cham: Springer, 2017): 193-206. P. Herlihy, ‘"Joy of the Rus’": Rites and Rituals of Russian Drinking’, The Russian…

People in this episode

Host: James White

Topics covered

• vodka problem
• sobriety movement
• alcohol policies
• civic activism
• Orthodox Church
• late Russian Empire

Keywords

• vodka
• Ivan Churikov
• sobriety
• Orthodox Church
• alcohol policies
• Russian Empire
• civic activism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Orthodox Church

Books & works: Holy Sobriety in Modern Russia: A Faith Healer and His Followers, The Alcoholic Empire: Vodka and Politics in Late Imperial Russia, The Russian Vodka Prohibition of 1914 and Its Consequences, "Joy of the Rus’": Rites and Rituals of Russian Drinking, Alcohol Control and Russian Politics, 1863-1876, Continuity and Change in Russian Alcohol Consumption from the Tsars to Transition

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