Grozny residents complain about increased control over alcohol buyers

Law enforcers are on duty at the exit from the only hypermarket in the Chechen capital where alcoholic beverages are sold. The law enforcers inspect the people who entered the wine and vodka department and detain them if alcoholic beverages are found, local residents report.

In October, in Chechnya, law enforcers publicly reprimanded people detained for drinking alcoholic beverages. Local residents and Instagram users found public reprimand of the detainees to be unnecessary.

According to residents of Chechnya, anyone who visits the wine and vodka department risks being detained.

"People are already afraid not only of entering the wine and vodka department, but even of getting into the sector where the store is located. There is constant monitoring, now inside and outside the store," said Umar, a local resident.

Some of the respondents in Grozny called searches and detentions of people because of alcoholic beverages an "absurdity." However, many people noted that alcoholic beverages can be purchased without any problems in neighbouring regions and in local markets.

"The prohibition of alcoholic beverages increases the risk of growth of drug consumption. A person can get sober after consuming an alcoholic beverage, while drug consumption almost always leads to addiction," noted human rights defender Aset Malsagova.

"This is populism, an attempt to be liked by the people," said Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.