Russian alcohol regulator blocks first 3 illegal liquor sites

Federal alcohol regulator cracks down on illegal spirit sales, blocking websites with 3-day warning for others

Other sites have three days to remove illegal content or face the same blocking for Russian users. According to Roskomsvoboda, cached Google copies show these sites were selling medical-grade spirits in 5–20 liter containers with nationwide delivery at significantly below-market prices.

Vadim Drobiz, director of the Alcohol Market Research Center, points out that underground production is the core problem plaguing Russia's alcohol market. So-called "counterfeit vodka" is made from this black-market spirit. Shutting down wholesale sites selling illegal alcohol could substantially reduce counterfeit liquor in circulation. For perspective: legitimate vodka sales generate about 1 billion rubles, while the black market pulls in roughly 200 million.

Online alcohol sales have been prohibited since October 2017 under federal law. Previously, Roskomnadzor could only block sites after formal requests from the Federal Alcohol Service (FAS). Today, FAS can independently block such sites without waiting for court approval. In 2017 alone, illegal online alcohol sales generated 1.71 billion rubles in revenue, according to Group-IB data.

Legalizing this market has been actively debated for years. A draft law was developed and is currently under State Duma review; it was supposed to take effect in 2018, but the Finance Ministry postponed implementation to 2019. The Health Ministry opposes legalizing online sales, citing concerns about sales to minors and late-night orders that are difficult to monitor. However, the Finance Ministry plans to allow only large wholesale companies and manufacturers to legally sell alcohol online.