Putin's piglet takes on imported pork

Khryusha used to be my friend. Every evening he wished me a good night in his hoarse, Khryusha voice. Khryusha was a piglet, a well-fed, cheeky and likeable character on the Soviet children's TV show "Good Night, Little Ones." But that was a long time ago. He's still cheeky but I don't like him anymore. Why not?

Today's Khryusha wears a t-shirt that has "Eat Russian Products" written on it and he runs around grocery stores sniffing out cheese, apples and pork, but only Italian mozzarella, Polish Jonagold apples or Spanish Serrano ham. Those are some of the products banned in Russia. And Khryusha makes sure no one eats them.

Young activists promoting the "Eat Russian Products" campaign call themselves Khryushas. They are funded by the Kremlin and are a branch of the large patriotic youth movement called "Nashi" (Our People). Their latest campaign supports the ban on officially sanctioned food products that illegally end up in Russian supermarkets. Then the well-nourished little patriots stick their self-made warning stickers on the colorful western packaging. The bear depicted on the stickers has a mean look on its face and warns buyers: "This is a sanctioned product."

No one seems perturbed by the fact that the warning signs actually attract buyers and practically serve as advertising for high-quality wares from Italy, Poland or Spain. The activists are just proud to support their country. This year, the Khryushas received a grant of six million rubles (100,000 euros) from one of the president's foundations - that's a lot of money.

Of course, the Khryusha campaign is a funny PR stunt - mostly because of the piglet itself. It is publicity for the obedience of young people loyal to the Kremlin.

But the president's decree calling for the destruction of all sanctioned foods on the Russian market goes beyond PR. Implementing the new rules will prove to be difficult in grocery stores - but may be easier at the border, where additional incinerators will be made available on August 6, the day the decree takes effect.

What a pity for the poor people, who could just be given these food products, which are not prohibited because they taste bad or their sell-by date has passed.

Nor have the foods violated random Russian hygiene standards, a reason which in the past has been cited as grounds for banning unwanted products from unruly neighbors - for instance, Georgian Borjomi mineral water, banned during the Georgia conflict, or Ukrainian Roshen chocolates, which have vanished from Russian shops since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.

In the meantime, the number of poor people in Russia is growing fast. According to the Institute for Social Policy at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, consumer prices have risen by an average of 20 percent this year alone. Around 23 million Russians live below the poverty line: that's one in six people.

But the goal of substituting imports with domestic products remains a dream. Instead, "evil" Western products will be tracked down by vigilant customs officers or maybe even patriotic piglets - unless the products turn up somewhere unexpectedly. Who knows, maybe a few new kiosks selling mozzarella will soon open near the border? The mischievous Khryusha of yesteryear would probably like that, but not today's Khryusha.

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