Chapter 1276 Alcohol

This is actually quite easy to understand. At this time, Russia was at war, and Russia was one of the most backward countries among the imperialist countries. The residents of the Russian front and occupied areas naturally had the most miserable living conditions.

Before, the Tsarist government had to collect grain from the occupied areas. After the Allies occupied Ukraine, they also had to collect grain from the local area. Moreover, the military discipline of both Tsarist Russia and the Allies was not very good, especially the Bulgarian troops. In addition, the local agricultural production activities were greatly affected by the war.

During this period, Ukraine and other Tsarist Russia’s occupied areas were in dire straits, not to mention hell on earth.

So don’t underestimate a small piece of biscuit. They quickly stabilized these Russian refugees who had been in a state of famine for a long time.

As for their life in the Basra refugee camp, although they were far away from the war zone, the Ottoman Empire was obviously not a charity, so they basically guaranteed that they could survive.

…

"Liberty!"

The so-called Liberty is an old sailing ship docked in the Persian Gulf south of the town of Fao.

Dozens of small boats have been moored on the beach between Fao Town and the Persian Gulf. Because Fao Town has no port, large ships have no space to moor and can only float on the sea.

To get to the Liberty, you need to use these small boats, row to the side of the Liberty, and then climb onto the ship through the ladder.

The refugees were divided into groups of ten and boarded the small boats one after another. There were three East African personnel on each small boat, responsible for maintaining order and operating the small boats to drift towards the Liberty.

On the shore, the East African personnel will carry out the last disinfection operation, holding a spray bottle filled with disinfectant, and do the final cleaning work for the refugees.

"Kumoyev, what did the East Africans spray on us? It seems to be white wine?"

Sitting in the boat, Leblia put his sleeves on his nose and took a deep breath.

A young man with obvious Slavic looks said: "It should be alcohol. East Africans are really extravagant. This kind of thing should also require a lot of food to make. It is a life-saving thing on the front line."

The young man was Kumoyev, from a village called Ananyev in Russia.

Since the outbreak of World War I, Nicholas II has issued a prohibition order, which has also made the Russians who love alcohol very dissatisfied.

One of the reasons for the issuance of this prohibition order is that during the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian army was addicted to alcohol, which led to the inability to supply logistics materials to the front line in time. Some media even reported that it was not the Japanese army that defeated the Russian army, but alcohol that defeated the Russian army. Therefore, Nicholas II learned from the last lesson and issued a prohibition order.

As for other reasons, as Kumoyev said, a large amount of grain is consumed in the brewing process of wine, which is a very luxurious behavior in the context of national food shortage during wartime.

Before the outbreak of the war, Russian conservatives actively supported the measures initiated by the authorities to combat alcoholism. They carried out anti-alcoholism propaganda and let the public know the harm caused by alcohol through speeches and publications.

In short, there are a large number of people in Russia who support the prohibition order, and this group of people is quite influential in the Russian government.

If Ernst were to judge the prohibition order implemented by Nicholas II, it would be "self-destructive".

After all, the Russian army is the most dangerous when sober, and alcohol is helpful to paralyze the fear and panic of the Russian lower-class soldiers about the war.

Moreover, from Ernst's perspective, no country has ever succeeded in prohibiting alcohol, whether it is the United States or the Soviet Union, it ended in failure.

Of course, the starting point of prohibition is good overall. Excessive drinking is indeed extremely harmful to health, but in a country like Russia where the lower-class people live in such a difficult situation, the so-called health is completely nonsense.

The effect of Russia's prohibition is also very obvious, that is, alcohol on the black market is sold at a high price, and the lower-class people in Russia are actively looking for substitutes for vodka, such as medical alcohol, even methanol, brightener and varnish.

So, when the East Africans took out alcohol spray bottles to disinfect these Russian refugees, the Slavs were shocked again.

Lieblia smelled the fragrance of alcohol floating on his clothes, as if he was afraid that the smell would disappear and said: "It has aroused my alcohol bug."

"Before the war reached Petri Fuka, although life was very difficult at that time, I still bought alcohol from the black market twice, and diluted it with water to a low concentration to relieve fatigue. This made me miss the days before the outbreak of the war and before the prohibition of alcohol."

"At that time, my father had not been forcibly conscripted into the army, and the family was still living a decent life. The price of vodka was not as high as that of unscrupulous businessmen. Now think about it, even if life was difficult at that time, it was already a paradise compared to the three years of war."

Lieblia was only sixteen years old. Tsarist Russia also expanded its army through voluntary registration at the beginning of the war, but soon turned to compulsory conscription. In this process, many farmers and civilians were forced to leave their homes to participate in the battle.

However, before Russia organized a new round of conscription, Lebrija's hometown fell. Lebrija's age was actually very dangerous. It could be said that whether he would be forcibly conscripted or not depended entirely on the mood of the local conscription officer.

His youth was also the reason why the Allies sold Lebrija to East Africa after occupying Petri Fuka, his hometown.

In this "new triangular trade" organized by East Africa, East Africa is just like the American farmers in the last century. They don't accept old people at all, and they don't accept those who are too young. People like Leblia who are about to become adults are the most popular.

Being young means being healthy. Even after being pulled to the South Pacific, they can continue to work for East Africa, and it is beneficial for the East African government to transform them.

Although the Labor Party is active in Russia at present, this does not affect East Africa's recruitment of immigrants from the occupied areas. After all, the areas where the Labor Party is active are the urban areas of Russia, rooted in factories, or sensitive areas such as barracks.

Rural areas are basically ignored by the Russian Labor Party, and this tradition was later inherited by the Soviet Union. People like Leblia, who were born in pure Russian rural areas and whose ancestors were serfs, naturally cannot become the target of the Labor Party's development.

The number of Labor Party members in the whole of Russia is only tens of thousands. If it is St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev and other cities, East Africa will definitely not ignore the risks and recruit immigrants from these cities for such a small number of immigrants.

Moreover, even if immigrants are recruited from these cities, they cannot be retained after arriving in Southeast Asia. After all, Russian cities and rural areas are completely different worlds, and the quality of life of urban residents far exceeds that of the vast peasant group in Russia.

Kumoyev sighed and said: "From the East Africans using alcohol to disinfect us, as well as the biscuits distributed yesterday, the car we took, and yesterday's dinner, it can be seen that East Africa is much richer than our Russia."

"This is also good news for us. The conditions in the 'Southeast Asia' mentioned by the East African officer before should not be very bad, at least not much worse than Russia."

The living standards in East Africa have always been good, at least above the world average, and with the passage of time, East African industry has developed, and the living standards of East African people in recent years have caught up with other powerful countries.

Even because of the long-term existence of slavery, East African people have surpassed the general powerful countries in some areas. In the world, there are only a few countries such as the United States, Britain, and France that can be compared with East African people.

And Kumoyev is obviously a meticulous and thoughtful Russian youth. He has determined his future just from some details he has come into contact with so far.

Of course, the colonies in East Africa obviously cannot be compared with the mainland, but what the colonies lack is developed industry and economy. Other aspects such as laws and systems are basically not much different from the mainland.