Play the bar card: how stores circumvent alcohol sales bans
In the Altai Republic, where some of the country's strictest restrictions on the retail sale of alcohol have been in effect since March 2026, a control purchase was conducted and it was found that small stores began to massively reformat into bars and cafes in order to circumvent the bans. But this transformation is only in words, in reality, retail outlets remain stores. The scheme is also common in other regions, and, as experts note, the more restrictions are imposed in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, the more violations related to the sale of alcoholic beverages. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
What violations were found in Altai
Starting from March 1, 2026, alcohol sales time is significantly limited in the Altai Republic: from Monday to Thursday, you can sell goods between 11:00 and 19:00, on Friday until 16:00, on Saturday until 14:00. And on Sunday, there is a complete ban on the retail sale of alcoholic beverages. Trade is also completely restricted on all holidays and socially significant days: from public holidays to World Health Day (April 7), Student's Day (January 25), Youth Day (last Saturday in June), etc.
However, the restrictions do not apply to the sale of alcohol in the provision of catering services: restaurants, cafes and bars live the same life. And this was the reason why cases of pseudo-transformation of shops into catering establishments became more frequent in the republic.
Recently, a control purchase was conducted in Gorno-Altaisk and several outlets were found at once, which used to be shops, but began to be considered bars in order to continue selling alcohol at retail. Several of the inspected establishments are now catering outlets, but all they needed to do was set up tables inside. And they sell takeaway alcohol there, although the bar is obliged to hand the bottle to the buyer already open.
The administration of the head of the Altai Republic informed Izvestia that 33 retail outlets located in apartment buildings in the region were banned from selling alcoholic beverages (the ban on alcohol sales in the MCD is part of the anti—alcohol campaign in the republic), of which 13 facilities refused to sell alcohol, and 20 stores stopped operating altogether. In addition, 13 more alcohol shops were closed in Gorno-Altaysk against the background of restrictions.
— Thus, out of 46 facilities, 33 have stopped operating. In addition, 22 "pseudo-catering" facilities were identified. The preventive visits confirmed the formal nature of their reformatting: the establishments lack the mandatory elements inherent in public catering facilities. Violations in the sale of alcohol were also recorded, in particular, without opening consumer containers and takeaway, the press service reported.
How the scheme works
In such a scheme, a point often operates as a store during the day, and in the evening it changes its sign and formally turns into a "cafe": a table, menu and an opened bottle appear, notes Alexander Ternovtsov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Law.
However, the expert emphasizes, back in December 2023, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in its decision No. 43-AD23-4-K6, indicated that signage and bottle opening do not turn trade into a catering service. The actual content of the transaction should be assessed: whether the dishes, dishes and service were offered, whether alcohol was supposed to be consumed on the spot, or whether the buyer was actually sold a takeaway bottle.
— Alcohol in a catering facility can only be sold when providing catering services and must be consumed in this facility. Selling takeaway items under the guise of cafe operation does not meet these requirements," the Izvestia interlocutor reminds.
In Russia, there are two different licenses for the sale of alcohol in stores and in public catering, says Pavel Shapkin, chairman of the National Consumer Protection Union. And when selling a closed bottle in a cafe, employees and owners of the establishment may have problems.
— Although I personally don't find it criminal. As a rule, the price of alcoholic beverages in public catering is several times higher than in a regular store. There is also a practice of taking out ordered dishes with you if you haven't had time to finish — why would a visitor pour in the remains of the ordered wine, for example? I think that in the case of a normal cafe or restaurant, the responsibility for selling a takeaway bottle is unreasonably harsh," the expert says.
Another thing is whether this is really a real catering establishment or a pseudo cafe with a single table set up for the night sale of alcohol. But this raises questions for the licensing authority in the regional administration, Pavel Shapkin believes.: how was such an institution given a license to sell alcoholic beverages in the provision of catering services?
Where are such schemes common?
Olga Pozdnyakova, an expert at the Popular Front, says that circumvention schemes are common in many regions, even if restrictions are imposed at the federal and regional levels. And, unfortunately, not the most pleasant audience often gathers around such points, the Izvestia interlocutor notes.
At the same time, it is usually not difficult to identify such "inflators", she believes. Most of the time, the locals know about them, and the main issue here is the desire to restore order.
— After amendments to Federal Law No. 171-FZ ("On State regulation of production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products and on restriction of consumption (drinking) of alcoholic products." — Izvestia), which gave the regions more authority to tighten the rules for the sale of alcohol in residential buildings, the next step should be to strengthen control. To do this, it is necessary to unify the basic requirements for such catering facilities, but not to make the criteria too formal so that a bona fide business does not suffer," the editorial interlocutor emphasizes.
Illegal alcohol retail schemes are most often used in regions where stricter restrictions are imposed. For example, in 2025, problems arose in Buryatia and the Vologda region, where grocery stores also began to be massively converted into bars, cafes and buffets.
Therefore, according to Alexander Ternovtsov, the ban on alcohol sales imposed by the regions should be end-to-end for all essentially identical sales, regardless of the signage, license and the specified format of the institution.
"Otherwise, a bona fide store will close, and a neighboring point will set up a table and continue trading under the sign of a cafe," the expert warns. — Such a "semi-ban" does not reduce the availability of alcohol, but only creates unfair competition. Therefore, either the restriction should be consistent and total at set hours, or it is better not to introduce it at all.
The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Nikolai Arefyev, in an interview with Izvestia, expressed confidence that additional alcohol bans do not work, but only worsen the symptoms of the problem they are designed to solve: people will still find a way to drink, only it may not just be alcohol bought at an illegally reissued point, but also, for example, a surrogate.
Research generally confirms this. Alexander Skorobogatov, a professor at the St. Petersburg School of Economics and Management at the Higher School of Economics in 2021, who analyzed regional restrictions on alcohol sales in Russia from the mid-2000s to the early 2010s, says that reducing alcohol sales hours increases mortality from alcohol poisoning. He explained this precisely by the substitution effect: when legal alcohol becomes less available, some consumers switch to more toxic alternatives. The author of the work was sure that this was a cause-and-effect relationship.
The possibility of an increase in illegal trafficking in the fight against alcohol consumption was also called the main risk for the alcohol market by the press service of Rosalokoltabakcontrol.
— Reducing the availability of alcohol, including limiting the time of sale, are important tools for reducing consumption. But it is necessary to carefully assess their consequences. Restricting legal trade does not in itself mean reducing demand. If demand persists and legal purchase opportunities are reduced, there are risks of circumvention schemes," the agency told Izvestia.
However, the administration of the head of the Altai Republic, with reference to the regional Ministry of Health, stated that "the restrictions imposed have shown their effectiveness."
— Despite residents' concerns about a possible increase in poisoning by surrogates, statistics show the opposite: the burden on the healthcare system has decreased. During the period from March to July 2026, the number of hospitalizations under the influence of alcohol decreased by more than 40% compared to the same period in 2025 (from 257 to 182 cases). In the Republican Clinical Hospital, the number of visits in a state of intoxication decreased by 28.6%, Izvestia was informed.
The number of deaths from alcohol poisoning has also decreased from 17 to 10 cases, accidents involving drunk drivers have decreased by 20.6% (87 in 2026, 105 in 2025), and the number of crimes committed under the influence of alcohol has decreased by 16% (274 in 2026m, 326 — in 2025).
How to punish illegal alcohol trafficking
Alexander Ternovtsev notes that now the responsibility for violating restrictions is provided for in Part 3 of Article 14.16 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of the rules for the sale of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products"): for officials — a fine from 20 thousand to 40 thousand rubles, for legal entities — from 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles with possible confiscation of alcoholic beverages. If the product is sold without the necessary license, then Part 3 of Article 14.17 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of requirements for the production or turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products") comes into force, and with it large turnover fines, disqualification of an official and possible administrative suspension for a period of 60 to 90 days..
— But in the case of a licensed pseudo-cafe, the violation is more often qualified precisely under Article 14.16 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, the sanction of which does not provide for the suspension of activities. This is an obvious gap," the lawyer draws attention to.
In this regard, he proposes to supplement Part 3 of this article with a clause according to which, for repeated intentional sale of alcohol to take away or at prohibited times in catering establishments, the suspension of the entire facility's activities for up to 90 days will be applied.
— It is the entire facility at a specific address, and not a formally dedicated cafe activity, — the expert emphasizes. — Otherwise, during the day it is a store, and in the evening the same outlet simply changes its sign and declares itself a bar. At the same time, it should be possible to temporarily close such an object before the court considers the case.
Alexander Ternovtsev is sure that it is possible to think about criminal liability in case of systematic circumvention of prohibitions. To do this, the interlocutor of the editorial board calls for the extension of Article 171.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the illegal retail sale of alcohol, or to establish a special staff for managers and actual business organizers who continue to intentionally sell alcohol after being brought to administrative responsibility.
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