Wine Law

THE 2019 RUSSIAN LAW ON VITICULTURE AND WINEMAKING 493 signed by the President in Kremlin. Federal Law No. 468 on Viticulture and Winemaking in the Russian Federation” 41 appeared, the next day, in the Official Russian Internet Site for Legal Information, as this is one of the binding ways for its official publication 42 . 3. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE FEDERAL LAW ON VITICULTURE AND WINEMAKING Federal Law No. 468 of 2019 is intended to create a unified and comprehensive legal framework for the sector of viticulture and winemaking on Russia’s whole territory. The specific goals are to lay down the conditions for an extensive vine-growing and an expansive wine production, to provide with adequate quality control mechanisms for the protection of the national wine producers and the consumers, and, in the long term, to possibly boost the wine export. However, another objective stays also behind – the gradual accustoming of the population to less strong alcohol consumption, the vodka being in the North an unsurpassable traditional drink for centuries. The wine-related regulations proved to have a certain correlation to the measures concerning the reduction in the consumption of strong spirits. Last decade’s development demonstrates the effectiveness of such coordinated measures 43 , for instance, the State-defined minimum prices for the vodka established in 2010, the 2011 restriction for night alcohol selling and the increase of excise duties on such products 44 . In May 2020, the Ministries of Health and Education and the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing ( Rospotrebnadzor ), in cooperation with the local authorities, undertook the drafting of a plan for the reduction of alcohol consumption in Russia up to 2030 and beyond 45 . In October 2019, a report of the World Health Organization revealed – surprising many international media – data on the Russian alcohol consumption, which, for the 2003-2016 period, decreased dramatically by 43% 46 . The Government- 41 Source : https://www.zakonrf.info/doc-36024118/ ( in Russian) ; https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/russia- federal-law-viticulture-and-wine-making-russian-federation ( in English). 42 The Official Russian Internet Site for Legal Information; available in: www.pravo.gov.ru; the Bill, available in : https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/815115-7#bh_histras. 43 Source : https://ideas.repec.org/a/nea/journl/y2019i42p94-120.html. 44 Source : http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2015/0665/tema02.php. 45 Source : https://ria.ru/20200821/alkogol-1576102778.html. 46 Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/01/russian-alcohol-consumption-down-40- since-2003-who.