FuzzyLumpkins
08-22-2015, 07:27 PM
In the first five days after Russia started burning, crushing, and otherwise annihilating food smuggled in from Western countries, 552 kilograms of contraband brought by Russian citizens in their carry-on luggage were destroyed. That’s 1,200 pounds of everything from French Camembert to Italian prosciutto — anything that was made illegal a year ago. That’s when, in a tit-for-tat move, Moscow imposed sanctions on food imported from the countries that imposed sanctions on Russia for dismembering Ukraine. Those 1,200 pounds of carry-on foodstuffs, though, are nothing compared to the hundreds of tons of agricultural produce — cheese, peaches, and pork — that were torched in incinerators or pulverized under tractor treads in just five days.
If you have any knowledge of Russian history, you know that the index of any book on the subject has a substantial “famine” entry. You may also have heard that the Russian economy has been slowly and steadily cratering for nearly two years now. According to the Kremlin’s own estimates, the number of Russians living in poverty has increased: 16 percent more in the first quarter of this year than last. Over 15 percent of Russians now live in poverty. And if you’ve seen the photos of local residents trying to salvage some tractor-scarred Greek nectarines out of the dirt, you might be wondering: Why is Russia destroying perfectly good food?
It’s a question some Russians are asking themselves. “When Putin signed the order about destroying contraband produce, I was very surprised,” wrote journalist Valery Panyushkin, noting the irony of the president’s own history. “A Leningrader? The son of a woman who survived the siege of Leningrad, the son of a man wounded in the battle for the city? The brother of a child who died in the besieged city? Destroying food? How?”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/18/vladimir-putins-bonfire-of-the-delicacies-russia-food-imports-ban/
If you have any knowledge of Russian history, you know that the index of any book on the subject has a substantial “famine” entry. You may also have heard that the Russian economy has been slowly and steadily cratering for nearly two years now. According to the Kremlin’s own estimates, the number of Russians living in poverty has increased: 16 percent more in the first quarter of this year than last. Over 15 percent of Russians now live in poverty. And if you’ve seen the photos of local residents trying to salvage some tractor-scarred Greek nectarines out of the dirt, you might be wondering: Why is Russia destroying perfectly good food?
It’s a question some Russians are asking themselves. “When Putin signed the order about destroying contraband produce, I was very surprised,” wrote journalist Valery Panyushkin, noting the irony of the president’s own history. “A Leningrader? The son of a woman who survived the siege of Leningrad, the son of a man wounded in the battle for the city? The brother of a child who died in the besieged city? Destroying food? How?”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/18/vladimir-putins-bonfire-of-the-delicacies-russia-food-imports-ban/