DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Good morning. I'm David Greene. The former Soviet Republic of Belarus still feels Soviet today. The government props up state-run companies, but this is bloody ridiculous. A bar owner complained to the website Onliner about a letter demanding he sell Hematogen bars from a state health supplement company. The bars - apparently a hit in Soviet times - are made with cow's blood. The head of the company has defended the government, saying citizens should eat his Hematogen, not the lower quality stuff from Russia. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
