When Carlsberg bought out the remaining 15% stake in the Russian Baltic Beverages Holding joint-venture in 2012, securing outright ownership, the group heralded the move as providing an immediate and enduring lift to its earnings. Fast-forward to February this year, and the Danish brewing giant revealed its financials for 2017, the end of a five-year span in which things in Russia not going according to plan has been a more persistent theme for the group.