The life of employees of any power structures at all times was associated with a huge risk to life, and therefore even the most enlightened and educated people involved in this area actively practiced all kinds of folk rituals and traditions. All this is an informal part of the life of a service person. One of the clearest examples of such rituals can be safely considered the "washing" of titles and awards.
Alcohol and the military-officer environment have been closely linked at all times. Of course, alcohol does not contribute to the maintenance of military discipline and frankly harms the service. However, in severe stressful situations, how not to treat "firewater", it often remains the only means of "emotional pain reliever". That is why at all times in the army they drank, they drink and they will drink. This can only be dealt with by the imposition of the most severe discipline and the correct organization of the internal service of the unit.
At the same time, the attitude towards alcohol in the army was always superimposed on the excessive ritualization of the life of a military man. And therefore, the use of alcohol in the army even more than in civilian life has acquired numerous traditions and signs. So, for example, during the service in hot spots when drinking alcohol, it is customary to raise at least three toasts, while the third since alcohol is drunk in silence, without words and without clinking for those who did not return from the battle - such a kind of minute of silence in memory of the military comrades.
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A similar situation is with the placement of military awards, as well as officer stars from shoulder straps into glasses of vodka. For the first time, this tradition arose during the time of the Russian Empire among the Russian officers. After the revolution, the ritual migrated to the soldier's environment. It gained the greatest popularity during the Second World War. The logic of the ritual action is extremely simple: although alcohol helps a person to relax - to emotionally purify himself, it tastes unpleasant. Alcohol is most often bitter, just as bitter and the soldier's share is the severity of the service, and the risk to life and the loss of comrades in arms. And therefore, awards for service must undergo a kind of purification. Kind of like "knocking out a wedge with a wedge."
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If you want to know even more interesting things about the Soviet Union, then you should read about why were the cases of Soviet TVs made of wood, not plastic.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/040820/55562/