November 05, 2023

A Brewer's Betrayal


A Brewer's Betrayal
Carlsberg lager. Unsplash.

Following the release of its quarterly report, Jacob Orup-Andersen, the newly appointed CEO of Danish multinational brewing corporation Carlsberg, affirmed the company's stance against asset seizure in Russia. This announcement was reported by Reuters.

"It is impossible to bypass the fact that they [the Russian authorities] stole our business in Russia, and we are not going to help them give it a legalized look," said Orup-Andersen. “We are not going to make a deal with the Russian government, which somehow justifies the illegal seizure of our business.”

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Carlsberg, as numerous other Western enterprises, chose to exit the Russian market. In June 2022, the Danish conglomerate disclosed it had found a buyer for its Russian operations. But the situation took a significant turn in July, when President Vladimir Putin implemented the nationalization of Carlsberg's stake in the Baltika brewing company.

In October 2023, Carlsberg officially declared the revocation of licenses previously granted to Baltika for the production and distribution of a wide array of Carlsberg brands, including iconic names such as Tuborg, Kronenbourg, and Holsten.

Orup-Andersen continued, "When these licenses expire, they will no longer be allowed to manufacture any of our products. Of course, I can't guarantee that this will happen, but we expect it.”

On October 20, Baltika successfully secured interim legal measures against Carlsberg through a court ruling. The court, in response to Baltika's petition, issued an injunction, restraining Rospatent from registering the termination of licenses for the prominent brands, which encompass Tuborg, Kronenbourg, Seth & Riley's Garage, Holsten, and LAV.

In response to Orup-Andersen's remarks, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation said that the brewing entity Baltika is not under state ownership. It asserted that an administration of temporary management has been enacted, but that this move does not signify any alteration in the ownership framework. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance underlined that the decision to implement temporary management at Baltika is in accordance with Russian law.

You Might Also Like

Hoppy Endings
  • August 30, 2023

Hoppy Endings

Heineken has completed its withdrawal from Russia, settling its operations for €1.
The Booze Must Flow
  • November 15, 2022

The Booze Must Flow

Russians hankering for foreign alcohol can now rest easy: state ministries will oversee the delivery of international alcohol products through a parallel import system.
A Debilitating Drought
  • July 30, 2022

A Debilitating Drought

Following the Ukrainian invasion, Russian bars and restaurants are expecting to face foreign liquor shortages. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955