Russian Nationalists Want to Copyright ‘Vodka’

When nationalism and food intersect, it can lead to absurd results like mass cheese burning, international kimchi squabbles, and boycotting tea cakes.

In Russia, where both contempt towards the West and nationalism are on the rise, there appears to be a concerted effort to protect the national character of one of the Motherland's most recognizable and exported products—vodka.

Earlier this week, Russian MP Mikhail Degtyaryov wrote an open letter to Minister for Trade and Industry Denis Manturov calling for the government to make an unprecedented copyright claim on the name "vodka," according to RT.

"Europe is usually very zealous about their national brands and we, for some unknown reason, cannot even claim the rights for what is ours. The 'Vodka' brand has been attributed to Russia by dozens of independent expertises and in the 1970s the International Arbitration Court confirmed that our copyright is valid," the letter reportedly read.

Degtyaryov is a member of the populist nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia which promotes a far-right agenda and an authoritarian "Greater Russia." He also emphasized that Russia was the very first country to produce the clear liquor, that "vodka" is a Russian word, and, by that logic, no other country should be allowed to use the brand name "vodka."

But the incentives are not just nationalistic for the Russian MP, who said that the proposed copyright would allow Russia to get a slice of the estimated $50 billion global annual sales of vodka.

This is hardly the first bold policy push made by Degtyaryov. In 2013, he called for two paid vacation days per month for Russian woman on the basis that "during that period (of menstruation), most women experience psychological and physiological discomfort. The pain for the fair sex is often so intense that it is necessary to call an ambulance." Needless to say, this attempt at feminism ended up offending women more than consoling them.

Nor is this the first time that legal action has been proposed to protect the national identity of vodka. In 2009, state-owned Christall Vodka, sister brand of famous Stolichnaya, took Cristal Champagne to court, arguing that their name was too similar.

Not surprisingly, Russian copyright watchdog Rospatent ended up ruling in favour of the Russian vodka brand. One bartender took issue with Rospatent's decision and reportedly told RT that it was "impossible to confuse the two, the name may be similar, but these are two very different products. It's like comparing chocolate to Santa Claus."