Beer Rules the Night in Russia

02.07.2010 — Analysis

The anti-alcohol campaign that Russian president Dmitry Medvedev initiated several years ago has drowned in beer. As a columnist for RusBusinessNews explained, none of the restrictions on alcohol sales apply to malt beverages.

So, the Russian Service for Alcohol Market Regulation has been working on some amendments in order to create an exception to this rule, and last week these were introduced for discussion within the Russian government. These amendments would prohibit the sale anywhere in Russia of any beverage with an alcohol content above 5%, including beer, between the hours of 11:00 pm and 8:00 am. Beer brewers were already up in arms. They were insistent that sales of their products should be regulated separately, since they do not contain pure alcohol. However, their worries were in vain.

Right now, only the Russian regions are having any success battling excessive drinking. For example, a ban on night sales of alcohol goes into effect in the Sverdlovsk region on August 1, 2010. Georgy Persky, a deputy in the Sverdlovsk Regional Duma, claims he was already declaring the need for such a measure back at the end of 2009. This elected official claims to have the support of the voters, and there was even a rally in Kamensk-Uralsky in support of alcohol bans. Of course, the restrictions in the Central Urals are not stringent. They only apply to beverages with an alcohol content above 15%, which means that beer, low-alcohol cocktails, and most wines can still be sold 24 hours a day.

Right now, about 60 of the country's regions have restrictions on night sales of alcohol. The Chelyabinsk and Tyumen regions led the way on this within the Urals Federal District, as well as some cities on the Yamal peninsula. And, contrary to what Georgy Persky has said, many people were not pleased at the prospect of the nanny state trying to safeguard their health. When restrictions took effect in the South Urals in early 2006, angry, would-be customers smashed store windows to get their hands on those highly-desirable but inaccessible bottles with their trademark green dragon. And Chelyabinsk taxi drivers have no trouble remembering Mikhail Gorbachev's "Prohibition Era," when a black market in alcohol sprang up. Now, when night comes, stores in the Chelyabinsk region, like those in 60 other regions, shutter the windows in front of their display cases of liquor, forcing Russians to stock up on alcohol during the day.

The Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev supported the regional initiative. "Most of the constituent entities that make up the Russian Federation have their own laws restricting the sale of alcohol, and seeing the positive results of those laws, I'm considering recommending similar regulations throughout the country," he stated.

But all this just involves sales of liquor. Many, including Rashid Nurgaliev's subordinates, have attempted to also battle beer in the Sverdlovsk region. In May of 2010, the Russian Deputy Attorney General in the Urals Federal District, Yury Zolotov, was upset by the fact that young people were drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages in downtown Ekaterinburg. As a result of his displeasure, the regional Main Department of the Interior was ordered to issue fines to these lovers of Bacchus, in accordance with the relevant articles from the Russian Code of Administrative Offences.

The police had problems with this immediately. The Code of Administrative Offences does contain article 20.20, which restricts the use of alcohol, but the first part of the article, which covers beer, does not prohibit drinking the foamy beverage on city streets. Thus, the prosecutor's office was forced to admit that the police were only able to fine those who were drinking something stronger and to make sure that beer was not being consumed by minors.

It should be noted that this odd provision in the Code of Administrative Offences puzzled Evgeny Bryun, the chief substance abuse specialist at the Russian Ministry of Public Health and Social Development. "Even in a sleazy place like New York you can't drink beer on the street. You have to just carry the bottle around in your hand. As long as there are no restrictions in place, then all the talk about the health of the younger generation is just hot air. Children will see adults freely and without fear of punishment drinking beer anytime, anywhere and they will learn that this is something normal," he claims.

The amendments created by the Russian Service for Alcohol Market Regulation turned out to be no different than the other lamentable lists of rules and regulations that make exceptions for beer. By limiting alcohol content to 5% and using the magical phrase "including beer," one could start to believe that the beer brewers had finally lost their upper hand. However, these illusions are quickly destroyed at the first street kiosk. Most beers sold fall safely under the 5% threshold, which means that the brewers have lost only the small amount of revenue from sales of "strong" beer. And this lost revenue will be more than offset by increased sales of other products - products that will be the only drinks available at night.

As Evgeny Bryun notes, beer with less than 5% alcohol is usually traditionally-brewed beer, not fortified malt liquor. Because of this, the substance abuse specialist feels confident that although beer isn't good for you, it's not as bad as vodka or other, higher-proof drinks. Evgeny Bryun thinks that the "beer" hole in the law was the result of a number of different factors, from the desire to avoid "shock therapy" to the effect of a lobbying campaign by beer brewers. So he doesn't think there will be any changes in the near future. You can't rely just on legal bans to fight alcoholism, anyway - it's more important to promote healthy lifestyles. But no one seems too interested in that in Russia. Beer brewers can buy "sponsorship packages" and advertise even during sporting events.

Aleksei Ostapov