Alcohol abuse has long been a chronic problem of Russian society. And the government has now decided to step up its campaign to tackle the issue by proposing to increase the excise duty on beer by a whopping 200 per cent next year, and by a further 10 per cent and 20 per cent in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

The brewing industry, which is dominated by four large international drinks companies (Carlsberg, Inbev, Heineken and Efes), is understandably up in arms. All the more so as they feel that the government is disproportionately targeting the beer sector in its latest campaign to reduce Russian alcohol consumption given that it is proposing to increase the tax on hard liquor, namely vodka, only by a meagre 10 per cent.