Minsk citizens opposing a vodka and spirits shop
The Movement for Freedom (the MFF) Minsk activists began the campaign against the limitless alcohol sale in an Azarennie store chain shop initiated by the Ministry of Trade.
The members of the MFF and of the Right Alliance (youth information and consulting organization) launched the centralized Sober View campaign in the Frunzienski district against alcoholization of the population and for prohibition of the 24-hour sale of alcohol.
The night department of the Azarennie chain store shop No. 28 at Bielskaha street 69 started working in summer 2009. The sale of alcoholic beverages goes on continuously 24 hours a day in this local sub-district.
The location of the shop became the place of gathering of antisocial people. It is now simply dangerous for local residents to walk near the night shop at night-time. The sub-district’s unhealthy climate leads to drunkenness among the under-aged. The shop is neighboured by the Minsk school No. 38 which now has the reputation of “problem” school among the educational institutions of the Frunzienski district.
The district residents have repeatedly appealed collectively and personally to state agencies asking to stop the work of this night shop and to restore former stability and tranquility of their residential sub-district. However, no one ever understood their desire. In fact, Azarennie, Ltd. store chain is the successor of the former Frunzienski District Food Trading Company which existed at the time of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. Most of its shares are still owned by the state. As Azarennie, Ltd. CEO Mr. Puchyla declared, the order to open the night shop came from the Ministry of Trade and is monitored by the Minister himself. “Serious people are engaged, so it’s unlikely you’d change anything”, one of the shop employees said in a private talk.
However, the Frunzienski district citizens don’t lose heart. The activists distribute materials, signatures are being collected, and letters to the state agencies are drawn up.
According to the World Health Organization’s data, the critical level of alcohol use for any nation is 8 litres of absolute alcohol per capita. When a nation reaches such threshold, sad demographic consequences are bound to happen.
The Republic of Belarus has long ago surpassed this dangerous level. According to the official information, 12.87 litres of absolute alcohol per capita is consumed in our country today which is approximately 52 bottles of vodka per one person a year! This figure doesn’t include samahon (home brewed hard alcoholic beverage) which is the major trade and payment means in the Belarusian countryside.
Alcohol abuse leads to numerous problems, including demographic crisis, population marginalization, higher mortality rate, and criminality.
At first sight, Belarusian authorities seem to struggle against the alcoholic trouble. Winter sports palaces are being constructed, promotion of healthy lifestyle is being performed, the state programme on the fight against drunkenness and alcohol abuse was adopted, and special commissions were created at enterprises and in institutions as well as in district and cities administrations. Cheerful reports are being sent to the capital city which delight the eye and give the hope that our “strong and prosperous” state would be “sober” as well.
However, the state has the monopoly in alcohol trade in Belarus, and most manufacturers are state-owned enterprises. Belarus is the only country in the CIS which produces a cheap fruit wine. In fact, fruit wine output even increased after the state programme on the fight against drunkenness and alcohol abuse was adopted. The list of ten biggest taxpayers in Belarus includes two alcoholic beverage factories – namely, Kryshtal (Minsk) and Klimavichy town factory.
Despite declaring the fight against alcohol abuse, the authorities don’t hurry to abandon their incomes which endanger the health and the future of the Belarusian nation.
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