Stolichnaya's owners, Luxemburg holding company SPI Group, posted a supportive letter from CEO Val Mendeleev emphasising the brand's links with the LGBT community...Despite the ingredients for Stolichnaya being grown on Russian SPI owned farms, the company sought to distance itself from claims that it is a Russian brand, as it's Latvian made and Luxembourgian owned...Claims that Stolichnaya was being unfairly targeted came from many, including LGBT activists in Russia and Latvia who called on people not to follow the boycott because it would damage both workers and campaigns in Russia and Latvia...[A representative of the National Union of Students LGBT campaign says:] "It is good to have a company like SPI make supportive statements but it has not changed anything in Russia. People must go deeper and look for the systemic problems..."...SPI's instant response is testimony to the depth of anger towards Russia felt by LGBT people around the world...While governments can be difficult to get at, companies – with their increasing use of social media and consumer engagement – make softer targets. The #dumpstoli message for businesses is that no brand is safe if they are viewed as being hypocritical.