Sobering up

While Russians were out shopping for a bottle of vodka, Russia’s Parliament voted in a law which could change alcohol consumption quite dramatically. On 13 July 2011 the Russian Duma passed a tough anti-alcohol law which not only prevents the sale of beer at kiosks as of 2013, but also prohibits off-premise sales of beer during the night (between 11pm and 8 am) and alcohol advertising in general. For the first time, fines for drinking beer in various public places were introduced.

Russia’s brewers wailed and gnashed their teeth. If they had hoped that beer would not be affected by President Medvedev’s clamping down on alcohol, they were hoping in vain.

While beer was once viewed as an exception to the alcohol rule, the growing concern of health experts regarding alcoholism has led to an expansion of the alcohol definition to include beer as well. Thus, the new law identifies beer as a fully-fledged alcoholic beverage.

The new law prohibits alcohol advertising in all mass media, while still making allowances for promo placing at the points of sale. This restriction will come into effect one year after the law is published in the legal gazette.

New prohibition measures were applied to the time and place of sales. As of the 1st of January 2013, it will be illegal to sell beer between 11 pm and 8 am – excluding restaurants.

The following sales restrictions were introduced: a ban on alcohol sales on mass transport stops (including metro stations), in wholesale and retail marketplaces, at railway and bus stations, airports, fuel stations, and kiosks.

It is not allowed to drink beer in the following locations: yards, stairs, elevators, playgrounds, recreation zones (within territories occupied by the city forests, parks, gardens, lakes, beaches).

The law has since been signed by President Medvedev and will become effective after the official publication.

This being Russia, it is not difficult to predict that many of the law’s good intentions could be lost on the way to the law’s implementation. Obviously, the law could massively impact urban beer consumption as it impinges upon beer’s availability. Once that is harnessed, consumption could decline too.

Due to a lack of cheap bars, many city dwellers have taken to buying their beer at a kiosk and emptying it in public parks and squares. For example, having a beer along St. Petersburg’s river banks has been a popular pastime for the city’s urban poor, especially during the warmer months.

Drunks staggering about on their way home may not have been a nice sight to behold. But if the kiosks have to give up selling beer (half of their turnover, it has been estimated), they may go out of existence altogether leaving locals in short supply of many other daily necessities as well.

Whether the new prohibitions on places of consumption will be honoured is anybody’s guess. Staircases, courtyards, elevators? Sounds a bit unreasonable for Russia. Think for a second: who would dare ring the police and tell them to come by because the downstairs neighbours are noisily enjoying a beer or two on the landing?

Still, analysts were quick to recognize the impact of the new law. Danske Bank on 21 July 2011 estimated that the new rules could weaken Carlsberg’s total revenue by 3 percent and the EBIT by 5 percent. Heaven knows how they worked these figures out. Nevertheless, if realistic, Russia’s beer market has already had its best years.