Vodka and Co. – how sensible is it to avoid Russian foods?

Putin’s war against Ukraine leads to new sanctions: In addition to raw materials, Russian food is also coming into focus.

The EU imposes an import ban on Russian vodka. US President Joe Biden had already blocked imports to the United States in March. US politicians publicly poured out vodka. In Germany, large supermarket chains have already banned Russian food from their shelves.
But can the Russian food boycott persuade Putin to end his military operations? André Kowalew, Managing Director of Dovgan, a wholesaler of Eastern European products. His company used to have food from Russia in its range. Today, says the man, who originally comes from Saint Petersburg, Dogvan has broken off trading relations with Russian manufacturers:
Kovalev:
“I have no means to put pressure on Putin or his people. I only have the opportunity to explain it to my producers and suppliers. Because I want to show my position and use it to put pressure on society in Russia. That they understand that times are changing for people too. They have to feel that. On every level. And I just do it at my level in the food area. This is an area that is not so important for Russia and I still have to show my position.”

According to Kovalev, only around 10 percent of the goods in his range came from Russia. Nevertheless, there are still foods at Dovgan that are considered typically Russian: sweetened condensed milk, for example.

Kovalev:
“We are the market leader in Germany. We have 20 percent of the market share for sweetened condensed milk. This means that every fifth can sold is sold by us. But I’ve never made a can in Russia. Because Russia has no access to the European market – milk and meat products – they are forbidden.”

That means so-called Russian sausage, salad or cheese offers in German supermarkets are not made in Russia. Other products that are considered “typically Russian” in Germany are not at all, says Kowalew. Most of these foods became mass-produced in Soviet times. Then as now, they are also consumed and produced in the Baltic States or other European countries. This does not only apply to vodka, which has its own tradition in different EU regions. There are also different variants of dough dishes such as pelmeni in European cuisine.
Typical Russian products are therefore more of a marketing invention than reality – there is another reason for this: Kovalev points out that the food cultures in Russia are very different.
“People eat more fish in the north. There are regions in the Far East that eat more like Asians, like Koreans or Japanese. While the whole south eats more like the Ottoman Empire. Ajvar, Pinjour etc. Western part eats very similar to people in Ukraine or Poland.”
If you still want to make sure that no product from Russia ends up in your shopping cart, a . The digits 460 to 469 at the beginning of the code identify products made in Russia.
The pressure that can be exerted on Russia via a food boycott, it was nevertheless important for Kovalev to send a signal back to his old homeland. Many of his employees have roots in Ukraine. While this was hardly an issue before Russian troops marched in, many have now become ardent Ukrainians. The company, in cooperation with major supermarket chains, has sent several aid shipments to Ukraine – the initiative for this would come from its employees.
Kovalev: “Every action to stop the war brings something. The question is: if we had been doing this for a longer time, perhaps since Crimea, we would not be where we are today. But all of us – I don’t want to point fingers at certain people – we all didn’t do it. And we are where we are today. It’s important for me that I can still look at myself in the mirror in a year’s time – that’s important for me, for my company and my employees.”