aimed at curbing the consumption of (illegally distilled) vodka,
also put a strong brake on developments in the brewing industry.
The beer market, which still had a volume of 43 million
hectolitres at the end of the 1980s, declined to 25 million hi
within a few years. But the local brewing industry did not resign
itself to accepting this tendency.
Hard work was done to improve the quality of the local beers and
consumers gradually turned their attention more to local brands
again. This shift, coupled with a strong increase in import duties
as a result of the devaluation of the rouble, made it almost
impossible for many import brands to make a profit. Heineken
Beer was also forced to accept a reduction in sales but was still
able to maintain its position as a super-premium beer.
Magnus Thorsteinsson and Thor Bjorgolfsson arrived in
St. Petersburg in 1993 to start up a new soft drinks factory there.
After five years their bottling operation for Pepsi Cola was sold
and the Icelandic entrepreneurs decided to focus on the brewing
industry. In 1998 they took the decision to start up a brewery and
within one year the first bottles of Botchkarov were coming off
the filling line. Icelander Ragnar Trigvasson, already a resident of
St. Petersburg for almost ten years, is seen as the man who made
this rapid development possible, but the Technical Director waves
the compliments aside. "Obviously, I did not achieve that on my
own. We started construction work in June 1998 and the first
equipment was installed in the brewery at the end of August:
the brewing kettles and malt silos. We had and we still have a
good team; many good people who trust each other. We kept on
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