Putin Calls for Vodka Monopoly

Central planning comes to the Russian alcohol industry:

Putin Plans Russia Vodka Monopoly (BBC)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has called for a return to a state monopoly on vodka production, to cut the many thousands of alcohol-related deaths.

Since the Soviet Union’s collapse, hundreds of little-known brands of vodka – Russia’s favourite tipple – appeared to meet a $9bn a year market.

But analysts believe a quarter of that total is illegal low-quality vodka.

Mr Putin said poor quality alcohol was contributing to the deaths of some 40,000 Russians each year.

On the bright side, at least he didn’t advocate prohibition.

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Robert Garcia Tagorda
About Robert Garcia Tagorda
Robert blogged prolifically at OTB from November 2004 to August 2005, when career demands took him in a different direction. He graduated summa cum laude from Claremont McKenna College with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and earned his Master in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Comments

  1. DC Loser says:

    More likely it’s all about the taxes collected on the alcohol.

  2. McGehee says:

    Best argument against prohibition there is: dead drunks don’t pay taxes.

  3. DC Loser says:

    Same argument goes for cigarettes.