The State Duma unanimously adopted a law banning “nalivaki”

The city falls asleep – the “nalivikas” wake up. This formula may soon come to an end. The State Duma on Thursday finally approved a law banning drinking establishments in the residential sector. More precisely, she allowed them to be banned. Whether there should be a half-shop, half-bar in a high-rise building that sells bottles, and at night uncorks them and pours them out for visitors to pour, or not – that will be decided by local authorities in the regions.

The long-awaited law banning liqueurs has finally been adopted in the third reading. The law is long-suffering: until the very end, the Duma members argued with the Cabinet of Ministers about what to ban and what not, and how to protect people without stepping on the interests of business.

As a result, the formula was found. Restaurants and cafes are not subject to the ban. Only a “pseudo-cafe”. How to tell the difference? Yes, very simple. During the day, such establishments operate like a store. And at night, corks fly out of bottles that were not sold during the day, and visitors are served alcohol to take away. Unscrupulous businesses have found this scheme to circumvent the ban on the sale of alcohol in the evening and at night.

The shop will close on April 1. True, whether this day will become a day of laughter or a fool’s day for the drinking business is not yet entirely clear. Judging by the text of the law, there is no need to expect a one-time shutdown for all liqueurs in the country. The final decision – to close or not – will be in the powers (and conscience) of local authorities.

“We have found a compromise solution that will allow us to effectively introduce on the territory of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, by their legislation, a restriction on the operation of so-called “nalivaki” in order to ensure order in apartment buildings,” said deputy Maxim Topilin (United Russia) and added that the bill had passed all checks, and even linguistic examination.

The Duma members had questions about linguistics. It would be much simpler if the law had a clear definition of “nalivayka” not as a place where they pour alcohol, but as a way of selling alcohol, said Spravedross representative Dmitry Gusev. He even reminded his colleagues in the ward of Faina Ranevskaya’s famous phrase: there is something, but there is no word. The same thing happens here too.

At the same time, the majority of deputies agree that there should be no need to tighten the screws too much at the federal level. The country is big, the regions are different. They’ll figure it out themselves.

“It is this approach, when federal legislation is strengthened and specified by regional legislation, that will allow us to restore order with the “nalivayki”,” Alexey Govyrin, co-author of the law, member of the State Duma Committee on Small and Medium Enterprises, told MK. – For example, regional authorities, based on regional or regional laws adopted taking into account the characteristics of the territory, will be able to introduce restrictions on the time of sale of alcohol.

Regional authorities will now have all the powers to suppress the activities of organizations that sell alcohol in residential buildings around the clock under the guise of catering, the parliamentarian emphasized.

In addition, low-alcohol drinks will also be prohibited: beer, poiret, cider, mead. They will be allowed to be sold only in restaurants and cafes that really are them: both during the day and in the evening.

“The law also provides for measures to combat surrogate alcohol,” Govyrin emphasized. – The ban includes “production of beer drinks from purchased beer” and “production of alcoholic beverages with the addition of ethyl alcohol.” This is necessary to prevent the recurrence of mass poisonings such as what happened with the Mr. Cider drink. In addition, it will not be possible to use information in the name of alcoholic products that could mislead consumers regarding its benefits or “medicinal properties.”

A deputy from the New People faction, Vladimir Plyakin, noted that it is good that the regions will decide everything based on the “liquors”.

“On the ground, it’s better to see what and how to regulate,” says the parliamentarian. “I’m sure they can handle it.”

But the assortment needs to be monitored more closely, Plyakin emphasized. He also couldn’t help but remember the story of “Mr. Cider,” which poisoned more than a hundred people, 36 of whom died. As for the closure of drinking establishments, this can generally be decided by the citizens themselves, the deputy is sure.

“We also believe that the right to close the liquor store should not only belong to the regional authorities, but also to the residents of the building where the alcohol trade was established. A convenience store is great. But not if it poisons people’s lives and serves as a gathering point for marginalized people from all over the area. People should have the right to have the final say if the authorities fail to act. It’s one thing when fresh bread and milk are sold two steps from your house. And it’s completely different when a would-be businessman deprives people of peace and security in their own home,” said a representative of “New People.” He also promised that the faction he represents will certainly control how the law will work on the ground and whether there will be complaints from people.

As soon as Plyakin left the podium, the first complaint arrived. On him. But not from citizens or the drinking business, but from Irina Yarovaya (United Russia). The Vice Speaker of the State Duma was outraged that her colleague came to the plenary meeting in jeans.

“Dear colleagues, with all my deep respect for everyone, but a speaker coming to the podium in jeans is something new in parliamentary ethics,” Yarovaya said to the applause of Duma members.

Despite the differences in views on the dress code, the deputies were united on the main thing: the law banning “nalivaki” was finally and unanimously adopted (395 in favor).