Putin’s sanctions war created a Russian cheese industry overnight

 DUBROVSKOYE, Russia — Oleg Sirota proudly holds up a wheel of Russian-made cheese with “Putin” etched into its rind.

“This is our prime block of cheese. This is the cheese for Vladimir Putin — exclusively for him,” Sirota said from his workshop in this village just outside Moscow.

The bearded cheesemaker wasn't always a supporter of the Russian president but plans to vote for him in the election scheduled for March 18.

He credits Putin for helping to make his dreams come true.

The president blocked the import of European dairy products into Russia in retaliation for sanctions that followed the 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. That created a market for high-quality cheese in a country where French, Italian or Swiss products were ubiquitous.

The sanctions war triggered a crackdown on smuggled cheese, with 470 tons of it being seized in one raid in 2015. Other contraband products were steamrolled or incinerated by Russian authorities.

 Source : nbcnews