Up until yesterday Russia did not consider beer to be an alcoholic drink. It was a thirst quencher, a companion to vodka, something to sip on while you drove to work, but never booze.
Those sneaky Russians! They’ve been calling beer “foodstuffs” all this time and not “alcohol” like the rest of us. The regulation of alcohol advertising and night-time sales is heavily affected by this and anything pretty much goes. But a new law will soon change that, introducing Russia to the 21st century where everyone else lives.