Russian Top Sommeliers Sign Anti War Petition

A petition created on Saturday 26th on Facebook has already gained more than a hundred signatures, despite restrictions on social network traffic.

Some of the signatories were arrested during protests in Moscow and elsewhere

Open letter to V.V. Putin:

We, Russian sommeliers, wine trade and restaurant industry workers, strongly oppose the military actions carried out by the Russian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine.

We are people who make and sell wines from different countries, we speak many languages and we consider ourselves, Ukrainians and Europeans as our friends and brothers who bring the wine culture around the world. There is not a single person among us who would benefit from bloodshed.

We love and promote Russian wine worldwide, we want wine to unite the people of the world, we don't want Russian wines to be associated with war.

We cannot remain aloof from the pain that is growing by the minute.

We demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and an end to the senseless bloodshed and the return of Russia to the negotiating table.

This letter is open for signature by all Russian wine professionals.

#NoWar

Sommelier Evgeny Kotelevskiy at the Thursday protest in Moscow

SIGNATORIES AS OF 15.00, 26/02/22

Olga Sokolova, head of B2C, Vinicom

Sergey Panov, wine journalist

Evgeny Kotelevsky, wine journalist

Snezhana Savchenko, wine expert

Julia Semenova, Wine Academic

Ilya Kirillin, wine blogger

Dilyara Bulgakova, sommelier, wine journalist

Victoria Mustyatsa, head of sales, V-Wine

Elena Novikova, sommelier

Alexandra Zhdanova, Sommelier

Maxim Grebenik, Sommelier, Ekaterinburg

Olga Tyamkina, FORT VTC

Yuri Shchuchkin, Luding brand manager

Svetlana Kudlay, Luding

Yulia Zvereva, gastronomic journalist

Alla Belikova, CEO, Wines of Germany Russia

Natalia Sorokina, wine blogger

Ilya Zabolotnov, Vinifera, member of the Board of Trustees of SVVR

Karina Schukina, wine expert and blogger

Dmitry Evteev, AKA Citron Tsyurupinsky wine blogger.

Dmitry De Vansa, brand manager, Luding

Daniel Shitov, sommelier, Blush

Stanislav Lobanov, wine blogger

Anastasiya Gavrilova, wine blogger

Evgeniya Ovcharova, Russian Wine School

Igor Apasov, Vivanco González Byass

Vlada Lesnichenko, wine promoter

Vladislav Volkov, wine expert, development director of Vinoterra

Natalia Chervona, Vintage

Vladimir Uzhastov, engineer-technologist (winemaker), Saint Savva Valley (Sudak, Crimea)

Vladimir Ignatov, sales manager, Wine&Whiskey by Simple

Noga Natalia, wine expert, Vinoterra

Vasiliy Raskov, wine expert

Ekaterina Zakharova, expert of “In Wine” club

Elizaveta Davydova, Lion Wine

Olga Bebekina, wine journalist

Olga Lyashchuk, sommelier

Maria Chashchina, Vinicom

Olga Nestrueva, brand ambassador

Anna Murashko, wine blogger

Nikita Lomaev, "Vinoteka Solovyova", Yekaterinburg

Valentina Bordeaux, wine blogger

Egor Golovnin, "Vinoteka Solovyova", Yekaterinburg

Svetlana Velikanova, wine blogger, goodtodrink.ru

Ilya Gogolev, Solovyov's Vinoteka, Yekaterinburg

Ksenia Kudrinskaya, self-employed

Inna Krylova, WineRetReat

Natasha Shastina, Moscow, AST, marketing director

Andrey Bolshanin, Manager of Wine Store, Saint-Petersburg

Natalya Kotyolkina, "Vinoteka Solovyova", Yekaterinburg

Dmitry Turov. Sommelier, "Chemodan" restaurant.

Pavel Popkov, wine blogger

Anna Fomina, Vinoterra

Alexander Zorin, Riedel, Moscow

Ekaterina Troneva, self-employed

Tatiana Selivanova, director of Fort Wine School

Anton Shcherbak, Wine Shop No. 1

Dear Robert, thank you for your help.

Maxim Glinkov, sommelier, Moscow

Elena Sidorenko, Wine&Whiskey by Simple

Astra Gasparyan - Head of the Astra Wine School

Alexander Endovin, restaurateur.

Boris Shramko, Anna Shramko (Such Wine)

Yulia Ilyushina, sommelier, Moscow

Andrey Supranovich, sommelier

Svetlana Sugatskaya, Marketing Director of Vinicom