27.07 Amid Gay Boycott, Stolichnaya Downplays Russian Identity
This article contains information not suitable for readers younger than 18 years of age, according to Russian legislation.
WASHINGTON, July 26 (By Maria Young for RIA Novosti) It is perhaps the single best-known Russian brand. But as US gay groups call for a boycott of Russian products including Stolichnaya vodka to protest new Russian laws on homosexuality, the beverages owner is racing to convince them that Stoli, as it is popularly known, is not Russian at all.
Technically, to define it as a Russian vodka in the US, it needs to be produced, bottled and distilled in Russia. Yes, its distilled in Russia, but it becomes a vodka in Latvia, when the alcohol from Russia is added to the mixture and then bottled, said Marco Ferrari, chief marketing officer for the Luxembourg-based SPI Group, which owns the Stolichnaya brand.
Our ingredients are Russian but technically its not a Russian vodka, he added in a phone interview from Luxembourg.
It has become a critically important distinction for the company in recent days, because of a growing boycott of Russian products by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) activists and supporters in the United States, who are protesting recently-passed anti-gay laws and what they say is a dangerous environment for homosexuals in Russia.
Life has been increasingly difficult for gay and lesbian people in Russia, with discrimination and violence, said Art Johnston, co-owner of Sidetrack, a large gay bar in Chicago and one of the first in the country to remove Stolichnaya from its shelves.
