Russia Hails Drop in Beer Imports From ‘Unfriendly Countries’

Russia saw a 36% drop in beer imports from its so-called “unfriendly countries” compared to the previous year, according to state media Ria Novosti.

The outlet, citing data from the press service of the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies, said the volume of imported beer from the “unfriendly countries” dropped to 61.7 million liters (16.3 million gallons) in the first half of 2026.

The “unfriendly” list was initially proposed in 2021 to limit trade and diplomatic ties and included the US, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the UK and Georgia.

It was later enforced and expanded in March 2022, days after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and expanded twice again in July 2022 to include countries and regions such as Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

But the center added that the number includes all imports outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Moscow-led economic bloc that includes former Soviet nations such as Belarus and Kazakhstan.

“Beer imports from countries outside the EAEU fell by 34% year-on-year in January-June, amounting to only 61.7 million liters,” the press release states.

Meanwhile, beer imports from the EAEU doubled to 5.35 billion liters, the report says, adding that it is close to the previous year’s total, while domestic beer accounted for 95.4% of all sales.

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The center added that Russians drank 3.1 billion liters (819 million gallons) of beer in total between January and June 2026, up 3.38% from the previous year.

In 2023, Russia registered a surge among those diagnosed with “alcohol addiction” – shorthand for alcoholics – for the first time in 10 years.