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Swedish alcohol monopoly pulls Russian products from shelves

Sweden's alcohol monopoly has decided to stop selling all vodka and other types of Russian alcohol in protest at the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian vodka brand Stolichnaya on sale in a branch of Systembolaget in Sweden. The vodka on the right is not from Russia.
The Russian vodka brand Stolichnaya on sale in a branch of Systembolaget in Sweden. The vodka on the right is not from Russia. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

The decision from Systembolaget, which came only hours after Alko, its Finnish equivalent announced a similar move, will apply with immediate effect. 

“Put simply, this is because of Russia’s invasion and that the attack will mean great suffering for the Ukrainian people,” Ulf Sjödin, the company’s Head of Category Management, told the TT newswire. “I wouldn’t say it was a protest, more just a natural consequence.” 

In a press statement, the company said that it agreed with Sweden’s government that the attack “violates Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”, “will mean great suffering for the Ukrainian people”, and is “a clear crime under international law”. 

Systembolaget has three Russian products on its shelves, and 30 more which can be specially ordered. 

Sjödin said the two Russian vodka brands together made up less than one percent of the company’s sales of spirits. 

He said that the company would resume sales of Russian products if the situation in Ukraine improves. 

Alko said that it had taken the decision for similar reasons, adding that consumer demands for Russian-made products had already dropped following the invasion last Thursday.

READ ALSO: Volvo suspends production and sales of cars in Russia

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DISCOVER SWEDEN

Sweden’s most bizarre tourist attraction is up for sale – again

Have you always dreamed of owning an enormous Chinese-style building next to Sweden’s main motorway? You’re in luck, for Dragon Gate is again on the market.

Sweden's most bizarre tourist attraction is up for sale – again

Driving along the E4 motorway from Uppsala to Gävle on Sweden’s east coast is like this: forest, forest, forest, forest, GIANT CHINESE CONCRETE BUILDING, forest, forest, goat on fire.

The Dragon Gate saga began in 2004, when Chinese billionaire Jingchun Li bought the former Hotel Älvkarlen with the aim of turning it into a hotspot “where east meets west”.

But the building remained unfinished, with only a restaurant, museum (featuring an army of 200 replica terracotta soldiers) and a souvenir shop opening to customers at the time.

The construction of the hotel finished in 2014, but couldn’t open due to not meeting Sweden’s fire regulations, among other things. A few years later Li left Sweden, having fuelled 200 million kronor into the project, and the building was left practically deserted.

In 2017, it was bought up by Swedish construction development group Sisyfos.

Its biggest mark on Dragon Gate was to organise a techno festival at the venue, which vowed to be the culmination of “years of struggle” and to “go down in history”.

Then came the pandemic and the building was again left empty.

It is now again up for sale, reports regional newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning (UNT).

The price tag is 40 million kronor.

“We need someone who is as crazy as we were,” co-owner Thomas Sonesson told UNT.

Public broadcaster SVT reports that Dragon Gate has in fact been up for sale for a year, with buyers not exactly lining up for the chance to try to turn fortunes around for the building.

“We have to find the right buyer who wants to develop the project for the future,” Sonesson told SVT.

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