More Than Two Dozen Dead After Drinking Bootleg Liquor
The article discusses Russia’s current difficulties, highlighting stalled economic growth, a struggling war economy, high interest rates, and labor shortages. Despite common assumptions about Russian vodka quality, a recent tragic event in the Leningrad region revealed a deadly issue with bootleg vodka. At least 25 people died, and several others were injured after consuming cheap, methanol-laced vodka in Slantsy. Investigations led to the detention of suspects, including Nikolai Boytsov, considered the ringleader, with tragic reports that one victim was his own wife. Methanol poisoning, caused by this toxic adulterant frequently enough used by bootleggers to cut costs, is highly perilous and can lead to blindness and death. This incident is part of a broader pattern, as Russia has faced problems with counterfeit alcohol for years, including previous mass poisonings that prompted government crackdowns on illegal alcohol production and sales.
Objectively speaking, and removing all left-versus-right punditry, Russia is not doing especially well at the moment.
Economic growth has stalled, the war economy is faltering, and there are high interest rates coupled with labor shortages, as pointed out by Bloomberg, just to name a few issues.
One issue most people assume that the country wouldn’t have is finding a good bottle of vodka or some other quality libation.
One would assume dead wrong.
As reported on by People magazine, “at least” 25 people have died after purchasing $1 bootleg vodka in the Leningrad region of Russia. Several more have been reported as injured.
The incident in question took place Friday in Slantsy and is being described as a “mass poisoning.”
Nikolai Boytsov, 78, and Olga Stepanova, 60, were detained during an investigation into the deaths. Boytsov is being described as the ringleader of this operation.
(In an especially tragic twist, one of the deceased is allegedly Boytsov’s wife, who had apparently tried her husband’s concoction.)
Multiple other suspects have been arrested since.
Due to elevated methanol levels in the deceased victims, the current working theory is that this bootleg vodka had been laced with the chemical.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Methanol’s toxicity is due to its metabolic products. The by-products of methanol metabolism cause an accumulation of acid in the blood (metabolic acidosis), blindness, and death.”
People magazine added that just a tablespoon or two of methanol can be deadly to young children, and that two to eight ounces of the chemical can kill adults.
“Methanol is commonly found in cleaners, windshield wiper fluid, antifreeze and other household products. As it’s colorless and odorless, bootleggers making their own alcohol have often used it to cut costs,” People magazine reported.
The alleged methanol-vodka is 90 proof (or about 45 percent alcohol by volume).
Bootleg alcohol has been an issue for Russian leadership for some time now, per Reuters.
Russian authorities tightened their grip on the sale and production of alcohol after 77 people died in Siberia in 2016 upon consuming bootleg moonshine.
In 2023, Russian authorities grappled with a spate of deaths across the country linked to adulterated cider. At least 30 people died during that incident.
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