MOSCOW, May 11. Last year, Kazakhstan retained the title of the largest importer of Russian vodka, according to open statistical data.
In total, last year our country sold $59.7 million worth of this strong drink abroad; almost half of the volume in value terms ($27.9 million) came from Kazakhstan. The republic retained first place in the list of largest importers of Russian vodka, but compared to 2022, the amount decreased by 26%. 
But the increase in imports brought Israel to second place in the ranking — a year earlier it was in third place. Over the year, the country increased the purchase of Russian vodka by 42% — up to $12 million.
In third place was Armenia with consumption of $4.5 million. True, over the year this figure dropped by a third. The fourth and fifth places went to Georgia ($3.9 million) and Azerbaijan ($3.5 million).
In 2022, the export of Russian vodka was noticeably higher — then it reached $141.7 million, mainly thanks to buyers from Europe. The largest consumers included countries such as Latvia, Germany and the UK. But then the import of Russian vodka was banned as part of the next sanctions package.