VODKAPUNDIT HARDEST HIT: Anti-Russia Protests Hit Wrong Target.
It gives some idea of the depth of international opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine when an international brand of vodka is loudly declaring that it isn’t Russian after all.
Following last week’s shocking invasion of a sovereign nation, Russia is increasingly being seen internationally as a rogue state, and Western countries have finally levied economic sanctions against Russia in an effort to make Vladimir Putin see sense. Non-governmental sanctions are also being applied, with retailers removing Russian products from sale – however, not everything is as Russian as it first appears.
Well-meaning retailers across the US and in parts of Europe have been taking vodka brands like Smirnoff and Stolichnaya off the shelves in solidarity with Ukraine, even though those brands no longer have any connection to Russia. Indeed, Stolichnaya went to the trouble of publicly announcing over the weekend that it was definitively NOT a Russian product and was instead a Luxembourg-registered company that makes its spirit in Latvia.
In a statement, Stoli Group said it “unequivocally condemns the military action in Ukraine and stands ready to support the Ukrainian people, our teams and partners. For decades, Stoli Group has supported the marginalized and those at risk of unwarranted aggression. We stand now with all Ukrainians and Russians calling for peace.”
Stolichnaya has been famously disputed since the break-up of the Soviet Union, when it was privatized and various parts sold off. The Luxembourg-based Stoli Group was set up by Yuri Shefler, who left Russia to avoid Putin’s baleful influence, and probably has a sincere feeling of empathy for Ukraine at present.
The other big “Russian” vodka, Smirnoff, hasn’t been actually Russian since founder Pyotr Smirnov’s son Vladimir legged it from Russia during the 1917 October revolution, which brought the Bolsheviks to power. These days it is part of the Diageo stable and distilled in at least a dozen countries.