Combating moonshine in Russia is not easy. And in general, alcohol abuse is one of the biggest ills in our country. Recent statistics show that people in Russia began to drink less, but the government is not going to relax control over the circulation of alcohol-containing products. The anti-alcohol campaigns carried out from year to year are aimed at reducing the production of strong drinks, reducing their imports and making a tougher article for moonshining.
Legal regulation
As the experience of past years shows, it is simply impossible to take and refuse alcohol-containing products; it is impossible to ban them on the shelves of supermarkets. If you limit the amount of alcoholic beverages at points of licensed sale, the volumes of alcohol of alternative, or rather, illegal production, will increase.
Is there an article for moonshining? Many people are interested in this issue. To date, a specific legal norm that would regulate this particular industry does not exist. As such, there is no law on moonshining in Russia. There are several regulations that contain provisions regulating this area of activity, but at the same time affect other issues of the alcohol sphere.
The history of the fight against moonshiners
The authorities have always tried to take control of home brewing at home, but not a single attempt has led to radical changes. In the middle of the last century, the manufacture of alcoholic beverages at home was punishable by a fine of 100 rubles. Moonshiners were necessarily involved in community service, but later the punishment became even harsher. In practice, there are many cases when a person was sent to prison for 2-7 years for the sale of moonshine and all his property was confiscated in favor of the state.
Due to the general drunkenness of the workers, production stood, collective farms did not develop. A shortage of non-drinkable labor forced the authorities to abandon strict control measures.
The next rise in home brewing came in 1985. The so-called dry law, signed by Gorbachev, meant cutting down vineyards in order to reduce the production of wine and vodka products. However, then the Soviet authorities came to the conclusion that it was impossible to fight with the moonshiners. The course has been changed: do not prohibit home brewing, but introduce restrictions on the volume of home production and the purpose of such products.
1995 legislation
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first amendments to the laws were introduced, which were supposed to tighten the responsibility for moonshining in Russia. We are talking about 171- "On state regulation of the production and turnover of ethyl alcohol" and article 14.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. The innovations were supposed to help in solving two issues: to stop the illicit trafficking of alcohol produced by artisanal methods, and to return the source of replenishment of the state budget with excise taxes. In addition, low-quality alcohol not only undermined the health of the population, but also led to mass tragedies. Thousands of people died due to poisoning with alcohol-containing surrogates.
How is it today
At the moment, the issue of home brewing is regulated by the above federal law. It does not contain a specific article for moonshining, but it also mentions the possibility of acquiring a special device, which are on sale. The production capacity of home "mini-distilleries" should not exceed 200 decalitres per year, which is equivalent to 2000 liters. Thus, the indicated volume is within the law. No liability for home production and consumption of moonshine in such quantities is provided.
Is over-norm a violation?
What punishment for moonshining awaits a citizen who has exceeded this norm depends on many factors. The most important thing to understand: at home you can make moonshine, but only on a device that is technically not capable of producing more than 5.5 liters per day. If the device is equipped with more powerful indicators, it must be registered and obtained a license from the Federal Service for Regulation of the Alcohol Market. In order to obtain permission to produce more than 2000 liters of alcohol-containing products per year, it is necessary to prepare a package of documents, open a tax office or register a legal entity, since individuals, in principle, do not have the right to sell moonshine, especially on an industrial scale. But this is not all the requirements: you will have to find the appropriate premises for the production workshop, pass the fire safety test, sanitary standards, etc.
This bureaucratic procedure will take a lot of time, money and effort. Does it make sense for the average moonshiner to bother with registration? Otherwise, if you go against the law, if you find a moonshine with a capacity of more than 200 decalitres, the device will be seized, and the owner will be issued a large fine.
The size of the fine for moonshine
If you adhere to the permitted norm and do not sell products even to friends or best friends, no penalty for moonshining is not threatened. But if during an inspection an unregistered device capable of giving more than 200 gave a year is found in an individual, he will be brought to administrative responsibility and a fine will be imposed in the amount of 3 thousand to 5 thousand rubles. This type of punishment is provided for in Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Moreover, for an official, the amount will be from 20 thousand to 50 thousand rubles, and for a legal one, more than 100 thousand rubles.
At the same time, if an individual engages in the illegal production of alcoholic beverages with a license, a larger fine is imposed - 30-50 thousand rubles. For the unauthorized sale of ethyl alcohol, SP will have to pay 100-200 thousand rubles. In the event of repeated violations, law enforcement agencies have the right to institute criminal proceedings.
By the way, a fine can be imposed in respect of persons moving more than 10 liters of home-made alcoholic beverages per person, for example, in the trunk of a personal car.
Can they go to jail for moonshining
What article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation punishes illegal production of alcohol? Usually, articles 174, 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are applied to malicious violators. In the first case, money laundering is implied, and the second is illegal business, which causes damage to the state or citizens in large and especially large amounts. If the turnover of trade has not exceeded 2.5 million rubles, a citizen is fined from 300 to 500 thousand rubles. In the presence of aggravating circumstances, the culprit faces from 6 months to 5 years in prison.
Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for punishment for the sale of low-quality products in the form of a large fine or two years in prison, is sometimes applied to illegal moonshiners. Imprisonment for up to 10 years threatens a person who made a surrogate and poisoned people to death.
Illegal sale of alcohol
This norm can be directly attributed to the regulation of home brewing. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains article 171.4, which prescribes punishment not for the manufacture, but for the illegal sale of alcohol-containing products. It would be wrong to consider this norm as an article for moonshining, and responsibility solely for sale. That is, it is possible to make alcohol for yourself in acceptable quantities (no more than 200 dal per year), of different quality and type, and it is not forbidden to use it in any quantities. Here, everyone is limited by their drinking measures and health status. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not establish any limits when it comes to home production and self-use.
Article 171.4 of the Criminal Code applies to persons who make moonshine for sale. Moreover, it doesn’t matter whether a citizen once sold a bottle of a strong drink to his neighbor, or selling moonshine is a source of constant income for him. Usually, district policemen learn about the point of illegal sale of alcohol from neighbors, who now and then come out of an enterprising neighbor with a bottle. Sometimes the sale of unlicensed alcohol is carried out by prior conspiracy in inconspicuous retail outlets (kiosks, stalls, grocery stores).
How to distinguish an administrative offense from a criminal offense?
The definition of punishment and article for moonshining depends on the extent to which illegal profits were made. If the income from illegal activities is estimated at more than one and a half million rubles, a criminal case is instituted, but if the profit does not exceed 1.5 million rubles. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation applies.
At the same time, it is important for law enforcement officials to distinguish home-brewing and the sale of home-made alcohol from a large-scale underground workshop for the manufacture of counterfeit goods and surrogates. You can distinguish these two crimes by the following signs:
- illegal production and distribution of alcohol;
- large volumes of alcohol-containing goods sold;
- evasion of payment of excise tax and registration of a license to conduct business;
- the desire to falsify alcoholic beverages of famous brands, to give moonshine as branded alcoholic beverages.
In this case, the offender is prosecuted and deservedly receives a more severe punishment.
Foreign practice
It is worth paying attention to the following nuance: in our country, not only asocial citizens or clandestine businessmen are engaged in home-brewing, as was previously thought, but also quite prosperous segments of the population. Some people produce home-made alcohol for their own needs, others indulge in home-brewing as a hobby, while others fundamentally do not want to buy vodka in a store, because they are dissatisfied with its quality or price.
It is interesting that even in Europe there are analogues of Russian moonshine: for example, Balkan rakiya, Serbian plum brandy, German schnapps and much more. In many countries, home brewing is a legal occupation. For example, to make moonshine in Austria, you must first pay the excise tax. The citizen will be given the necessary device with a built-in counter. Moreover, in this case, you can even sell alcohol, and then pay tax on the proceeds. The Germans simplified the licensing process by allowing those who wish to come to specialized distilleries with their mash. Thus, it is more profitable for the state not to prohibit, but to competently control the process of production of alcohol-containing products.
Surrogate Poisoning
If you believe the information from Rosstat, then every year several thousand people die due to alcohol poisoning in Russia. Moreover, a common reason is the use of liquids that contain alcohol, but are not intended to be drunk.
Unscrupulous manufacturers sometimes add methyl alcohol to the product instead of ethanol, a toxic substance that does not differ in smell and taste from ethyl alcohol, but costs several times less. Methanol, unlike ethanol, is much more dangerous: it is enough to drink 100-150 ml of such alcohol in its pure form in order to poison and die.
Drinking counterfeit alcohol often leads to severe poisoning, blindness, and even death. The reason for this is often not moonshine, but the use of substances containing alcohol, but not intended for drinking (colognes, antifreeze, ant alcohol, etc.). For example, in December 2016 several dozens of people were poisoned with “Hawthorn” - a concentrate intended for taking baths, as a result of which a criminal case was opened. That is why the state is wary of the unauthorized production and sale of alcohol.
Largest case
The incident occurred in the city of Pärnu (Estonia) in 2001. This case is considered the most widespread in terms of the number of victims of surrogate alcohol poisoning. Shortly before the emergency, workers at the local plant took 20 cans of methyl alcohol from the workshops, thinking that they had ethanol. Having spilled liquid into vodka bottles and pasted on them labels of trademarks, they sold counterfeit alcohol at a low price. The sale of counterfeit products led to the death of nearly 70 people and a further 50 disabilities.
Conclusion
Is home brewing permitted in Russia? There is no official ban on the home manufacture of alcohol-containing liquids for their own needs. However, those who make moonshine always need to be prepared for the precinct check, which usually comes at the tip of “friendly” and watchful neighbors. In addition, self-brewing is strongly recommended in strict accordance with the law.