In the morning – money, in the evening – glasses

The State Duma on Tuesday unanimously accepted in the first reading bill, expanding the powers of regions to limit the sale of alcohol in establishments located in apartment buildings. Many deputies took this issue to heart and, during a heated discussion, spoke about the relevance of the initiative, although they doubted its implementation. The communists demanded that the government lift the moratorium on business inspections, and ideally completely return the state monopoly on alcohol, but they did not meet with understanding.

The bill was submitted to the Duma on November 13 by a group of deputies of different factions and senators. It gives regions the right to prohibit the sale of beer, cider and other alcoholic beverages in mini-cafes, which are popularly called “nalivayki.” The authorities will also be able to limit the time of sale of such products at catering points located in apartment buildings and in the areas adjacent to them. At the same time, the draft prohibits giving alcoholic beverages names that mislead consumers regarding the composition, quantity, shelf life and medicinal properties of the product.

Previously, the Duma provided the regions with the opportunity to ban the sale of strong alcohol in public catering (only Chechnya and Ingushetia took advantage of it), but this was not enough, complained the speaker of the chamber Vyacheslav Volodin: “We must admit that the measures taken were incomplete and not effective enough. Therefore, our specialized committee and State Duma deputies have prepared amendments. Our voters and citizens turned to us with a request to adopt them, because to this day this issue has not been resolved.” According to Mr. Volodin, at first there was a “misunderstanding” on this issue with colleagues from the government, who believed that the existing standards were sufficient. “But, as life shows, this is not so. In apartment buildings, “nalivayki” continue their work. And, as you can see, to this day there is no government for them,” the speaker lamented. “The regions cannot influence these problems, they do not have effective levers, although powers have been transferred both in terms of area and restrictions, especially on strong alcohol. However, there are still a number of topics that require consideration. This is the operating time of the “nalivaki”, as well as control over the so-called pseudo-cafes, because during the day there are shops in apartment buildings, and in the evening there are pseudo-cafes.”

Chairman of the Duma Committee on Economic Policy and co-author of the bill Maxim Topilin (“United Russia”) said that the issue was dealt with by a working group created in May on the initiative of the speaker, which included representatives of all factions, many Duma committees, the government, the Prosecutor General’s Office and regions.

After mass poisoning people with “Mr. Cider” in June, the deputies, according to Mr. Topilin, “expanded the palette of their consideration.” He emphasized that more than 60 regions sent feedback on the bill, and all of them were positive.

Then the deputies asked their questions to the authors. Renat Suleymanov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) noted that the main problem is monitoring the implementation of the measures taken, and asked whether the co-authors planned to increase liability for non-compliance with the prohibitions. Maxim Topilin reassured his colleague, saying that the working group was not curtailing its activities and was ready to discuss changes to the Administrative and Criminal Codes.

Yaroslav Nilov (LDPR) said that residents who communicated with him in the region, concerned about the existence of “nalivaki”, doubted that local deputies would tighten things up. Mr. Topilin responded by recalling that requests for the adoption of amendments were also made by the legislative assemblies of the constituent entities, although indeed “there are different points of view on the implementation of this law” and “there are situations when this is connected with the celebration of various holidays, the New Year, and here you have to be very flexible.” But members of the working group will monitor the practice of regions in implementing new powers, the deputy assured.

“In my yard next to the power substation they installed a “nalivika” and a “Red and White” store,” Nikolai Kolomeytsev shared his personal experience (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) — I contacted the prosecutor, who said: listen, the president extended the moratorium on all controls two weeks ago. Each “nalivayka” has the last name, first name, and patronymic of the founder, and these are difficult people, and perhaps our colleagues from municipalities.” “I think such prosecutors who refer to the president need to be slapped on the wrist!” – Mikhail Matveev (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) supported his comrade. “Is the government ready to lift the moratorium on everything related to health, to the production of all these different drinks?” — another communist, Alexei Kurinny, joined the conversation.

Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov, who was present at the meeting, explained that at a meeting in the government it was decided to extend the moratorium until 2024, except in cases where they are carried out in agreement with the prosecutor’s office. And now the criteria are being clarified in which cases it will be possible to contact the prosecutor’s office with a request for an inspection.

“Has the government thought about introducing a monopoly on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages? — Viktor Sobolev set a new vector for the discussion (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) – Since the times of Kievan Rus – the Muscovite kingdom, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union – there has been a state monopoly on the production and sale of alcohol. And all questions will be answered instantly!”

Mr. Sazanov, however, rejected such plans and gave an explanation for this: “All your examples are correct, but in those days the treasury was replenished from the profits earned by the monopoly, and now from VAT and excise taxes. Accordingly, there is no need for a monopoly.” In addition, the deputy minister noted that the bill does not contain the term “nalivaki”: “Let’s separate them from bona fide catering establishments where people come for a romantic dinner. And it is for “nalivaki” that we will introduce additional requirements and restrictions.”

Vyacheslav Volodin called the Ministry of Finance’s idea constructive and proposed formalizing it in the form of amendments to the second reading. Then he asked the government’s plenipotentiary representative in the Duma, Alexander Sinenko, to outline the position of the Cabinet as a whole. Mr. Sinenko, who clearly did not expect this question, answered briefly but impeccably: “The health of the nation is the priority of the government.” After that, 383 deputies voted for the bill, there were no votes against or abstentions.

Ksenia Veretennikova