Russia’s move to ostentatiously destroy banned food imports at the border has sparked debate in a country where millions live below the poverty line

Tonnes of pork tossed into incinerators, truckloads of cheese bulldozed into the ground, and an orchard’s worth of apples buried in a shallow grave. The visuals of Russia’s stepped-up fight against sanctioned foodstuffs have been dramatic, and left many Russians wondering why so much is being destroyed in a country where millions of people live below the poverty line.

Moscow’s reciprocal measures against countries that sanctioned Russia over its actions in Ukraine have been in place for a year, but the new law stipulating the destruction of contraband shipments at the border came into force on Thursday.

Importing fruit, vegetables, meat and cheeses from the EU and other countries that instituted sanctions against Russia is banned. Moscow says importers have tried to get round the ban by putting fake labels on produce, claiming it is made in Brazil, Belarus or another sanction-free country.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bulldozer destroying illegally imported cheese in the Belgorod region. Photograph: Reuters

On the first day, newspaper RBK estimated that more than 300 tonnes of food was destroyed. Newsflashes came in from across the country as suspect food shipments were seized at the border and at wholesale markets: 650kg of Polish apples destroyed in Novosibirsk, Siberia; nine tonnes of carrots pulped just outside Moscow; a consignment of Irish pork detected at a warehouse in the town of Reutovo. On state television, a correspondent went live on air as a bulldozer just behind her ploughed into wheels of yellow “unidentified European cheese”.

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Many have pointed out that the sanctions appear to be a case of cutting off nose to spite face. The aim is to hurt western agricultural producers, and in some countries it has indeed had a major economic effect. Nevertheless, food prices have gone up in Russia as a result, and the latest move to destroy imports has created outcry, even among many who are loyal to the government.

In a country where food queues were a way of life until two decades ago, there is a deep-set distaste at the spectacle of waste, and more than 300,000 people have signed a petition suggesting the food should be given to pensioners or others who are in need.

A television presenter on a local channel in the Siberian town of Nizhnevartovsk released a satirical video in which he set alight a piece of ham and some cheese from his local shop.

“I fully support the policy of our president and parliament and want to make my own small contribution to allowing Russia to rise from its knees,” he said, spraying paraffin on the food. “It’s a shame we don’t have mobile crematoria, that would be better, and then we could burn more ... Burn, you French filth. I hope they see this in Obama’s fascist Yankeeland. Russia, arise!”

Meanwhile @KermlinRussia, a popular parody Twitter account, joked about the fact that while the bans affect ordinary Russians, the elite can just go abroad. “Russia will create special diversionary groups made up of the children of MPs and other officials to destroy sanctioned foodstuffs on enemy territory,” said one tweet.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Workers throw peaches off a truck outside the city of Novozybkov. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Vladimir Putin, said he understood that the images of burning food were visually alarming, but the foodstuffs being destroyed were contraband goods with no certificates of origin and as such there was no guarantee they were safe for consumption, meaning it would be irresponsible to give them out as humanitarian aid to the needy.



On state television, a newscaster claimed the policy was already having a dramatic effect, citing claims by Russia’s food standards body that the flow of contraband goods reaching the border had decreased tenfold since the law came into force.