Pyotr Ivanovich Polyakov Was the Founder of the Sober Movement in Russia in the Late XIX ‒ Early XX Centuries

Relevance. The struggle for sobriety is today one of the important social tasks that actualizes the experience of the sober movement in Russia of the late XIX ‒ early XX centuries in general and the vital activity of its representatives in particular.
The purpose is to highlight the life and work of Pyotr Ivanovich Polyakov as a leader of the sober movement of the turn of the XIX – XX centuries.
The objectives arising from this goal are: to explain the motives that prompted the village teacher to practice sobriety; to reveal the content of the work of the "Christian Society of Sobriety and Abstinence"; to trace Polyakov's path to the priesthood.
Methodology. The work is based on the principles of historicism, consistency and scientific objectivity. Historical-situational, anthropological and statistical methods were used to solve individual problems.
Results. In the mid-1880s, a young teacher from the Kursk hinterland, guided by his moral principles and the desire to change the "drunken environment" in which his students existed, organized the "Christian Society of Sobriety and Abstinence". Being one of the first sober organizations, the Christian Society for Sobriety and Abstinence has developed a wide variety of methods of fighting for sobriety, ranging from individual anti-alcohol conversations and ending with the mass release of anti-alcohol publications. They have become an example for sober organizations throughout Russia. In the capital, Peter Ivanovich was ordained to the priesthood and expanded his educational, educational, and publishing activities to promote sober ideas.
Conclusion. Peter Ivanovich Polyakov's contribution to the cause of sobriety was great, which allows him to be called one of the founders of the sober movement in Russia at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries.

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