I’m not sure if this is the proper venue for this thread but it’s food and drink so the cafe seemed appropriate.
Check it out…
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB109718350897139658-Idjf4Nmlal3nZunbICGca2Im4,00.html
For a nation of hardcore vodka drinkers, it’s hard to imagine beer as a threat.
I smell a little xenophobia going on here.
Beer’s Germanic connections may be at the root of this.
Or the vodka distillers may just be handing out bribes. Hard to say. 
The article only talks about this:
It’s illegal to drink beer in public in other parts of the world – where I live, for example – and it doesn’t seem to harm beer sales. All it would mean is that Russians would have to drink beer somewhere else, such as in their own apartments.
(Would this mean that drinking vodka in public would also be banned? If not, it would certainly be unfair).
The article said the ban would include sports stadiums also. That would be a major hit anywhere.
Not to mention the ban in advertising, I would imagine that would hit people hard.
I was in Russia on Thusday. The situation is just a little bit out of control. We’re not talking about a couple of hobos and/or college kids chugging back a few in the park on a Friday night - it’s the entire population getting hammered every night* and leaving the evidence behing in the street. It’s an amazing sight, but not a good one.
*some hyberbole added, but not much
Hell if people in my country drank it out of two liter plastic bottles, I’d want to ban it too. Thats just embarrising.
What I meant to say was “That’s just embarrassing.”
Not saying anyone is at fault, and no real remedy is in sight, but alcohol is a coping mechanism for some…