In the last two decades, there seems to be a consensus between Russian physicians, sociologists, and the general public, that drug addiction should be considered a serious and threatening social problem. The authorities, however, are unable to stop the increasing numbers of drug users. Meanwhile, as Ia. I. Gilinskii put it, social deviations are “the mirror of social realities”, and the power structure should not avoid looking in it. Drug addiction became a major social problem, for which no one-sided solution is acceptable. The attempts to approach the topic from the narrow viewpoint of some sociological or medical theory usually fail – as do the methods of plain administrative repression. The terms narkotik, narkoman, narkomaniia, narkotizm are applied in a somewhat simplified manner (as an unambiguous social evil), and it further complicates the understanding of an already difficult phenomenon. There is also a clear lack of attention towards social, psychological, economic and other incentives for an individual to take drugs.
Therefore, the need for a more synthetic and complex approach is obvious, and in search for it we should also look at the developments in the past and the history of drug addiction in Russia.
The focus of this paper is on the early Soviet period of Russian history (ca. 1917-1929) and on the medical texts of that period. My aim will be to look at early Soviet medical texts related to recreational drugs to show how physicians described the causes of drug addiction – and thus contributed to the construction of the social problem. The causes of the problem are especially important and relevant for the medical discourse, as the etiology of disease often gives physicians the clue to the solutions and treatment. Accordingly, the origins of drug addiction as described in early Soviet medical texts greatly influenced the understanding of drug addicts and practical narcotic policy among the medical community – and also beyond (as physicians tried to achieve symbolic domination). In particular, I want to consider three large groups of potential causes that were detected by early Soviet physicians: socio-political (such as war or revolution), economical (like capitalism or foreign trade), and other (it includes various causes on the macro- and micro-scale alike that range from regime of prohibition to sexual frustration to the use of drugs za kompaniiu).
Table of Contents
1. CONSTRUCTING THE SOCIAL PROBLEM: CAUSES OF DRUG ADDICTION IN EARLY SOVIET MEDICAL TEXTS
2. War and Revolution: Imperialist Legacy and Social Perturbations
3. Remnants of Capitalism? Free Market, Commerce, and Drug Addiction
4. Other Causes: Prohibition, Malnutrition, and Plain Curiosity
Research Objectives and Topics
This paper examines early Soviet medical texts from 1917 to 1929 to analyze how physicians identified and described the causes of drug addiction, thereby contributing to the social construction of the phenomenon as a pressing societal problem.
- The intersection of medical discourse and the construction of drug addiction as a social problem.
- The influence of socio-political factors, such as war, revolution, and the transition to the NEP, on drug use narratives.
- The role of economic factors, specifically the transition from war communism to capitalist elements, in medical interpretations of addiction.
- Psychological and physiological causes, including trauma, malnutrition, and curiosity, as observed by early Soviet doctors.
- The struggle for symbolic domination and institutional funding within the Soviet medical community through the medicalization of social ills.
Excerpt from the Book
War and Revolution: Imperialist Legacy and Social Perturbations
As we have mentioned earlier, the First World War is often recognized as the major factor in the spreading of drug addiction (especially morphine addiction) in Russia – and elsewhere. This explanation was already present in the works of early Soviet physicians, who were in a way repeating the argumentation that had been earlier pronounced regarding the increase of the number of drug addicts after the Civil War in the United States or after the Franco-Prussian War in Germany. There were, however, some new elements in the Soviet texts, as the war was not labeled Great or Patriotic, but rather 'imperialist'. As with many other things in early Soviet Russia, it was imperialism of the old regime and not war per se that actually made so many young men and women fell victims to morphine after serious injuries or shell-shock. This explanation was particularly useful in a sense that it provided a nice and politically correct framework to apprehend the great number of “declassed travmatiki from various classes of the society” (that is, including workers and peasants) among morphine addicts. Combined with the assumed extraordinarily strong and persistent character of wartime stress experience, this also helped to account for so many morphinists that were still present on the streets and in the wards of Soviet cities even in the late 1920s.
The war also brought many socio-economical problems (such as hunger, poverty, or captivity). In describing a medical history of her patient, a certain S. D., Raisa Golant specifically mentioned that it was precisely after lengthy stay in the Austrian captivity that he understood that “without drugs life...makes no sense”.
Summary of Chapters
CONSTRUCTING THE SOCIAL PROBLEM: CAUSES OF DRUG ADDICTION IN EARLY SOVIET MEDICAL TEXTS: This chapter introduces the research focus on early Soviet medical discourse regarding drug addiction and establishes the historiographical context of the era.
War and Revolution: Imperialist Legacy and Social Perturbations: This section analyzes how physicians attributed the spread of morphine addiction to the trauma of the 'imperialist' war and the subsequent social disruptions of the revolution.
Remnants of Capitalism? Free Market, Commerce, and Drug Addiction: This chapter explores how medical professionals used Marxist frameworks to link the emergence of drug addiction to the existence of capitalist economic structures and the New Economic Policy (NEP).
Other Causes: Prohibition, Malnutrition, and Plain Curiosity: This chapter examines secondary factors identified by physicians, including the effects of alcohol prohibition, physiological exhaustion from malnutrition, and psychological motives like curiosity.
Keywords
Drug addiction, Early Soviet Union, Medical texts, Social construction, Narcology, Morphine, Revolution, NEP, Imperialism, Capitalism, Social problem, Physicians, Etiology, Psychopathology, Trauma
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this research?
The research explores how early Soviet medical practitioners in the 1920s conceptualized, described, and labeled the causes of drug addiction in their professional literature.
What are the central thematic fields covered in the work?
The work covers the intersection of medical science, political ideology, social history, and the historical construction of deviant behavior in early Soviet Russia.
What is the primary goal of this study?
The aim is to demonstrate that medical descriptions of drug addiction were not purely clinical but were actively used to construct the phenomenon as a social problem, thereby legitimizing the medical community's influence and policies.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The author employs a historical-analytical approach, reviewing primary sources such as monographs, articles in professional medical journals, and documents from the 1920s to trace the evolving discourse on drug addiction.
What topics are addressed in the main body?
The main body treats socio-political causes (war and revolution), economic factors (capitalism and the NEP), and individual or physiological reasons (trauma, psychological states, and curiosity) as perceived by Soviet doctors.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include drug addiction, early Soviet history, medicalization, social problem construction, and professional discourse.
How did the definition of "remnants of the past" affect the medical view of drug addicts?
Physicians often categorized drug addicts as "remnants of the past," effectively labeling them as class-alien or degenerative, which justified their marginalization and allowed for the politicization of addiction as a non-socialist problem.
What role did the NEP play in the medical understanding of drug use?
The transition to the NEP was interpreted by many physicians as a return to capitalist foundations, which they believed inevitably fostered pathological phenomena, including an increase in drug-related deviance.
Why was the "medicalization" of addiction strategically advantageous for physicians?
Medicalization allowed physicians to claim symbolic domination and secure government funding by asserting that addiction was a medical problem requiring professional intervention rather than just a social or moral failing.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Pavel Vasilyev (Autor:in), 2010, Constructing the Social Problem: Causes of Drug Addiction in Early Soviet Medical Texts, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/163783
