Russia's impending membership of the World Trade Organization may have an affect on the drinking habits of its citizens, according to reports in Russia Today.
With membership of the organization, import duties on foreign wines will "fall from 20 percent to 12.5 within four years, and for beer from 60 eurocents to 1.8 eurocents per litre by 2018."
As Russia Today notes, the move may be an unexpected benefit for the Russian government, pushing Russians towards now cheaper wine and beers and away from hard alcohols such as vodka.
The news comes after the announcement that taxes on vodka are set to double, and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev argued that"wine making is one of the sectors that should be developed to contribute to the eradication of alcoholism."
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