This is the moment a drunk Russian man storms into an off-licence, breaks several bottles of booze, and threatens the worker with a knife to give him a packet of cigarettes.

The thug, also filmed swigging from a bottle of cognac before leaving the shop, was arrested shortly after the incident at the off-licence on Ulyana Gromova Street in the city of Kaliningrad in the Russian semi-enclave of Kaliningrad Oblast.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement on 10th February: “The incident took place in January on Ulyana Gromova Street. A drunken man went into a liquor store, threatened the salesperson with a knife, and began smashing a display case with alcoholic beverages.”

The ministry said he then “grabbed a bottle of cognac and demanded that the worker give him a packet of cigarettes”, adding: “Having got what he wanted, the thief tried to escape.”

The statement continued: “Meanwhile, the cashier pressed the ‘panic button’ and, through a joint effort with patrolmen and employees of the ‘Baltic Bears’ private security company, the armed thief was not allowed to escape.”

According to the Russian authorities, the suspect was promptly handcuffed and taken to the police station to face a charge of robbery under Part 2 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The 44-year-old man, who has been convicted of theft in the past, is currently being held in custody as the investigation continues.