This is a translation of the post by Kamron, that originally appeared on the Russian version of neweurasia.

More than two weeks had passed since the coming into force of the decision “About measures on the further improvement of alcoholic production in retail trade”, and appreciable consequences and numerous comments of analysts had come in a very short time period.

According to new regulations, henceforth one can sell alcohol only in the specialized shops or in the separate sections (rooms) equipped with cash registers. And the main thing, the shops that sell alcoholic beverages should be not less than a half-kilometer away from educational, preschool and religious institutions. Besides, they should not be located at stops of public transport and many others of “strategic places”.

Just think about it: where, for example, in Tashkent city is it possible to find a place that is remote enough from schools, stops and many other abovementioned places, which is crowded enough and easily accessible to consumers? There are no such places, except for uninhabited city suburbs. This and many other aspects of innovations result in depressingly enough consequences for those who more or less consume alcoholic drinks.

Ferghana.ru describes the first days after the prohibition came into force with dull colors.

Since May 1, the drinking part of the population of Uzbekistan lives in a condition of a shock: alcohol is gone from free sale … Of course the decision to eradicate alcohol trade near schools, kindergartens, hospitals and living areas must be welcomed. However, hardly anyone will specially go to the downtown because of a bottle vine or vodka. It means that underground alcohol trade soon will prosper, and taxi drivers will sell “homemade” alcohol drinks. And it is not even desirable to think about the quality of the underground alcohol drinks…

It is interesting that that covering the given question SNGnews.ru shows surprisingly care of people suffering from alcoholism, not only describing their depressing situation, but also offering a way out from a situation. The news site advises to get medical 70-percentage alcohol or so called “Hawthorn Tincture”, so much loved by the Moscow alcoholics. In opinion of Russian “experts”, in this cases the consumer wins not only in the price but also in quality as this alcohol is purer than any other kinds of vodka and costs approximately 500 sums (app. 40 cents) for a 100-gramme bottle.

I do not drink, but if you go to Yunus-Abad (one of living areas of Tashkent) - there people almost kill each other because of vodka, - tells the seller of one of the shops in the center of the capital. – In the neighborhood of “Universam” area, each morning, hundreds of alcoholics gather in front of shops and café in hope of getting some booze.

It is obvious that certain circles are trying to take under the control the sphere of realization of alcoholic production as it has already taken place with extractive industry, spheres of tourism, transport and many other profitable segments of the Uzbek economy that are so far from market mechanisms. However, Fergana.ru assumes that the decision can be the next step in struggle against an out-of-bank circulation of money resources, which the president is conducted by the president for many years to support the artificially overestimated dollar exchange rate.

Today, commission payment for “cashing” money reaches 30 percents from a total sum of cash. And the companies that sell alcohol used to work with cash and frequently rendered such services. And now even this loophole disappears that had been allowing businessmen to get out money that they keep for a long time frozen on bank accounts.

In his turn, Analyst of Russian institute of strategic researches, Adjar Kurtov, considers that authorities of Uzbekistan are trying to limit excessive charges of the population. As the state has no opportunity to increase quantity of workplaces, to raise incomes, it consequently limits “excessive charges”.

What would not be the true reasons of the given decision quite probably that the declared purposes are doomed to remain on a paper. A.Asrarov, who has analyzed a situation, has come to a conclusion that the given decision will have four basic results: 1) Prices for alcoholic drinks will raise; 2) Consumers will start consuming less qualitative alcohol; 3) Regulation of the alcohol market can not be done; 4) Volumes of illegal production will increase many times. Probably it will result in the reduction of alcohol consumption, but I don’t want even to assume what price will be paid for this by everyday alcohol consumers, who got used to the normal access to alcohol drinks. Lets just wait, time will show …