a repeal of the law, prohibition was abolished in early 1932. Today, all Nordic countries except Denmark continue to have strict controls on the sale of alcohol, which is highly taxed (dutied) to the public. There are government monopolies in place for selling spirits, wine, and stronger beers in Norway (Vinmonopolet), Finland (Alko), Sweden (Systembolaget), Iceland (Vínbúðin), and the Faroe Islands (Rúsdrekkasøla Landsins). Bars and restaurants may, however, import alcoholic beverages directly or through other companies. Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, does not share its easier controls on the sale of alcohol. Greenland has (like Denmark) sales in food shops, but prices are typically high. Private import when travelling from Denmark is only allowed in small quantities. Russian Empire and the Soviet Union In the Russian Empire, a limited version of a Dry Law was introduced in 1914. It continued through the turmoil of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War into the period of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union until 1925. United Kingdom Although the sale or consumption of commercial alcohol has never been prohibited by law in the United Kingdom, various groups in the UK have campaigned for the prohibition of alcohol; including the Society of Friends (Quakers), The Methodist Church and other non-conformists, as well as temperance movements such as Band of Hope and temperance Chartist movements of the nineteenth century. Formed in 1853 and inspired by the Maine law in the United States, the United Kingdom Alliance aimed at promoting a similar law prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the UK. This hard-line group of prohibitionists was opposed by other temperance organisations who preferred moral persuasion to a legal ban. This division in the ranks limited the effectiveness of the temperance movement as a whole. The impotence of legislation in this field was demonstrated when the Sale of Beer Act 1854, which restricted Sunday opening hours, had to be repealed, following widespread rioting. In 1859, a prototype prohibition bill was overwhelmingly defeated in the House of Commons. On 22 March 1917, during the First World War at a crowded meeting in the Queen's Hall in London (chaired by Alfred Booth) many influential people including Agnes Weston spoke, or letters from them were read out, against alcohol consumption, calling for prohibition; General Sir Reginald Hart wrote to the meeting that "Every experienced officer knew that practically all unhappiness and