Reports of the circus that is Vladimir Putin’s imported-food ban continue to trickle out of Russia, with officials saying that they’ve destroyed 600 tons of goods during the first week of the campaign. On Friday, French foie gras and canned Latvian sprats were among the foods seized from a supermarket, while a video has emerged of a trial, and subsequent bulldozing, of three shrink-wrapped, frozen Hungarian geese confiscated from a village shop. Not surprisingly, Russians don’t think this is such a good idea especially, you know, during an economic downturn, and the extent of that opposition is reaching pretty far.
Typically bullish in supporting the Kremlin against the West, Russia’s Communist Party is not having it this time. The party, which has the second-most members in Russia’s parliament, has introduced a bill that would require confiscated food to be used to feed the poor rather than serve as props for the Kremlin’s slightly less resourceful posturing. According to a Levada centre poll, some 48 percent of Russians are against the policy.
[BI]
