An important event unfolded yesterday; a giant of the drinking world - quite literally, again looked at taking steps into a totalitarian land of restriction and control. On the 21st of July 2011, Russia's President, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a bill that officially classified beer as alcoholic. Previously anything containing less than 10% alcohol in Russia has been considered foodstuff. Now hold on, stop sniggering at the back for a second, lets look deeper into this. With beer sales soaring in recent years over the popularity of spirits due to a healthier image the Russian Government plans to restrict its hours of sale, restrict its advertising and has already hit the brewing industry with a 200% tax hike.
Russia has of course been here previously, from tsarist coffer-cramming kabaks to Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts at partial prohibition in 1985. Serpentine schemes concocted in the delusion that the problems that result from a society feeling the need to attempt to consume such large amounts of alcohol can be addressed by curbing the drink itself.
The powers that be would have you believe that the well documented problems in Russia can't of course be caused by whole populations griped in the crushing clutches of poverty, or also, as PricewaterhouseCoopers put it “The worlds most fraudulent economy”. No, not even the boot from the oligarchic class that developed in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, so determined to carve up everything for themselves, can be blamed here, it is all the fault of humble beer.
Instead of a brewed or distilled beverage which-hunt, maybe Russia should commend alcohol in its benevolent ability to alleviate the pressures of various portions of society living in dystopia. The friendly welcome and warm atmosphere of a drink with comrades or even a quiet simmer down with a drink in the comfort of oneself may be one of the few pleasures left allowing people to rise the next day, go to work and keep the cogs of all our stuttering economies going.
Typing this with a bottle of Baltika 6 Porter and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture firing out of the speakers, here's to you, drinking classes of Russia. Budem zdorovy!
