Sergey Ryabukhin: an increase in alcohol prices may cause an increase in the production of surrogates 
An increase in excise taxes on strong alcohol may cause an increase in the production of surrogates. The deputy head of the budget committee of the Federation Council Sergei Ryabukhin found such a threat from the rise in prices for vodka and cognac, RIA Novosti reports.
The parliamentarian said that the Federation Council recommended that the Finance Ministry abandon such a measure. He stressed that the budget is now balanced, and the National Welfare Fund has become strong enough, so the increase in excise taxes will have negative consequences. According to the legislator, it is necessary to wait until the norms for excise taxes in the countries of the Customs Union and the EAEU are balanced.
Ryabukhin also noted the high rate of production of moonshine in Russia. According to the parliamentarian, the growth of home brewing in 2021 is projected to be about 20 percent. “A lot of bootleggers are now divorced, who make a substitute for strong alcohol,” Ryabukhin said and added that the production of such products is concentrated in garages and industrial zones. The senator also said that thanks to measures to curb the production of counterfeit alcohol, more than 700 factories were closed.
On November 15, the country's Ministry of Finance proposed to increase the minimum retail prices for vodka by 7.4 percent from January 1, 2022. It is planned that the prices for cognac will also rise by 7.6 percent. State Duma Deputy Sultan Khamzayev said that vodka in Russia should cost no less than 500 rubles, and urged to fight counterfeit.