The article describes the arising of sobriety societies in Russia aimed at helping their members overcome alcohol addiction. The author analyses the causes of this phenomenon and the specific features that make these societies different from the associations which called themselves brotherhoods. At that time there were both minor brotherhoods with members providing personal support for each other and thousands of associations engaged in various social activities. The author draws attention to the paradoxes associated with the arising of sobriety societies, with the change of their status as well as with the consequences of their functioning as church-state institutions in the context of the state anti-alcohol policy.