‘No more concessions’: restaurateurs get a final warning
Sales of alcoholic beverages in the republic have barely increased over the year: Tatarstan residents drank only 6.1 million dal

“Today, there is a moratorium on inspections of legal entities, but with the permission of the Prosecutor's Office of Tatarstan, it is still possible to inspect (retail trade, catering — editor's note), since the safety of citizens depends on it. I think the prosecutor's office will meet you halfway," Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Nigmatullin gave the go-ahead to further strengthen control over alcohol trafficking in the Republic of Tatarstan. Last year, the number of poisonings increased — 257 people died in the republic due to the use of counterfeit vodka. Although Tatspirtprom is developing a chain of shops in the village, its residents still choose adulterated vodka. The head of the State Alcohol Inspectorate, Zhaudat Akhmetkhanov, criticised bar owners for “hooliganism” with the sale of unaccounted-for beer. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
Alcohol market — without checks
The fight against surrogate alcohol remains on the agenda of the law enforcement agencies of Tatarstan, and its results were summed up at the reporting board of the Republican State Alcohol Inspectorate on 29 January. The catch of counterfeit alcohol turned out to be modest: 36,700 liters were seized, which is equivalent to a “drop in the bucket”. The reason for the low impact is the moratorium on inspections of legal entities, which “ties the hands” of regulatory authorities, said the head of the State Alcohol Inspectorate of Tatarstan, Zhaudat Akhmetkhanov. He recalled that at the initiative of Vladimir Putin, the moratorium on business control measures was extended until 2030. This measure was introduced to reduce administrative barriers and support entrepreneurship in difficult economic conditions.

The ban on inspections has limited the ability to control alcohol market turnover. “In 2024, we continued to implement control and inspection functions under significant restrictions set by the Russian government. Planned and unscheduled control measures were almost completely eliminated," the head of the department said. The main focus was on prevention. The initiation of administrative cases has almost come to naught. The maximum that the supervisory authorities of the inspection could do in relation to unscrupulous manufacturers was to issue a warning about the inadmissibility of violating mandatory requirements.
As a result, the burden of alcohol purity control fell on local authorities.
“We have a clear understanding that the most important role in bringing order to the alcohol market is assigned to the district and city interdepartmental commissions. Only substantive and targeted work on the ground will give the desired result. We tried to ensure the participation of responsible employees of the State Alcohol Inspectorate in all meetings of interdepartmental commissions," said Zhaudat Akhmetkhanov.
Security patrol on the borders of Tatarstan
Despite the ban, the security forces carried out operational search operations to curb illegal trafficking. According to the head of the State Alcohol Inspectorate, they regularly carry out operational activities. Last year, eight distribution channels for illegal alcohol from Chuvashia, Nizhny Novgorod, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions were suppressed.
In rural border areas, Tatspirtprom sets up its points of sale of vodka at discounted prices to discourage residents from buying cheap counterfeit vodka. Zhaudat Akhmetkhanov believes that the network needs to be expanded.
“Today, 379 retail outlets participate in the TSP's targeted program, where economy-grade vodka, bitters and beer are sold at minimal prices. But there are still 1,217 settlements that do not have stationary retail facilities. Illegal alcohol dealers take advantage of this," he said.
"562 people suffered from the use of counterfeit products last year. Of these, 257 cases were fatal," Yulia Bulatova, the deputy head of the Department of Rospotrebnadzor of Tatarstan, continued the topic.
Moreover, teenagers suffer from alcohol poisoning. This year, 50 incidents involving children under the age of 18 were recorded. For example, an 11-year-old girl died from using counterfeit alcohol in Kazan. According to Bulatova, 60% of poisoning is caused by methanol.
The deputy head of the Rospotrebnadzor Department of Tatarstan expressed concern that in 12 municipal districts the number of alcohol poisoning cases exceeds the national average, and in five districts — Kaibitsky, Tetyushsky, Agryzsky, Apastovsky and Tyulyachy — the death rate from alcohol poisoning increased 3 times.
USAIS, Chestny Znak — how to control the legal alcohol turnover
Meanwhile, the federal authorities are targeting the regions with digital tools to control alcohol turnover in the retail market. They are the USAIS system, where every bottle of alcohol sold is taken into account, and beer labelling in Chestny Znak system. Dzhaudat Akhmetkhanov did not say what effect these systems have. But this year it is planned to cover the entire beer market turnover with digital control.
“It is important for us that both systems, combined into a single window format, become an effective tool for detecting and suppressing various types of violations and contribute to the formation of analytical data for making operational management decisions," he said. Next year, Tatarstan will continue to participate in a federal pilot project and experiment to ensure full traceability of beer product turnover.
6.1 million dal of alcoholic beverages were sold in the retail market of Tatarstan, which is by 0.5% more than in 2023, Akhmetkhanov said, citing data from the USAIS. There are 10 wholesale companies operating here. But the former three remain the largest — Saman, Premier and Rossich. The multibillion-dollar claims of the tax authorities against Premier did not shake his leadership. However, they are competing with Prometheus wholesale company, which provides the Krasnoe and Beloe chain of stores, representatives of the State Alcohol Inspectorate later said.
Tatspirtprom state holding company took the first place among the manufacturers. By the results of 2024, the company sold 12.4 million decaliters, said Zhaudat Akhmetkhanov. The production of vodka at the foreign sites of TSP partners — in Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Azerbaijan — increased to 33,000 decalitres. In total, 552,000 dals were issued on third-party sites under the company's brands.

In his closing remarks, Deputy Prime Minister of Tatarstan Rustam Nigmatullin noted that stability in the sphere of alcohol turnover is “a merit of law enforcement agencies and the State Alcohol Inspectorate.” The fight against the grey market contributes to the growth of sales within the republic.
“The industry transferred 24 billion rubles of excise taxes, which is by 8% more than last year," he said.
Nevertheless, he believes that control needs to be strengthened. “Today, there is a moratorium on inspections of legal entities, but with the permission of the Prosecutor's Office of Tatarstan, it is still possible to inspect (retail trade, catering — editor's note), since the safety of citizens depends on it. I think the prosecutor's office will cooperate," he believes. The head of the State Alcohol Inspectorate, Zhaudat Akhmetkhanov, warned that they would no longer forgive the owners of bars and cafes for selling unaccounted-for beer.
Подписывайтесь на телеграм-канал, группу «ВКонтакте» и страницу в «Одноклассниках» «Реального времени». Ежедневные видео на Rutube, «Дзене» и Youtube.