Coercion to sobriety: Moscow authorities demanded the closure of wine boutiques in lockdown

According to Vedomosti, referring to the owners and heads of several wine chains, no such demand was received during the lockdown last year.

The manager of the Wine Room boutiques Yevgeny Dyachkov, the deputy general director of E-Wine Dmitry Kuznetsov and the owner of Winemania boutiques Aaron Koffmann spoke about the letters of the officials. In the reports, the authorities refer to the provision of the decree of the mayor Sergei Sobyanin, according to which those shops, the range of essential goods in which does not exceed 30%, should be suspended.

Dyachkov said that he did not agree with the requirements, since according to the law on trade, alcohol is classified as food. E-Wine is ready to expand the range of goods, including basic necessities.

Meanwhile, we note that Moscow restaurateurs demanded compensation for losses during the lockdown. Let us remind you that the authorities allowed restaurants to work as a takeout and deliver ready-made meals, but at the same time it is forbidden to accept groups of people on the premises. After the introduction of QR codes, the establishments became empty - about two-thirds of the region's residents are not vaccinated and cannot go there.