Mayor Of Moscow Restricts Vodka Sales

The mayor of Moscow decreed Monday that vodka may no longer be sold near schools, child-care centers, health clinics or churches in the Russian capital.

Sales of Russia’s national drink also will be barred near subway stops, railway stations, airports and military facilities under the decree issued by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.

Although it restricts sales of all spirits with an alcohol content higher than 12 percent, the decree clearly targets cheap, widely available vodka as the culprit behind Moscow’s public drunkenness problem.

While Luzhkov’s edict appeared sweeping enough to shut down vodka vendors throughout Moscow, it wasn’t clear whether it would actually be enacted.