Alcohol Poisoning Deaths Rise to 25 in Western Russia

TDT | Manama

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The death toll from alcohol poisoning in western Russia has risen to 25, after investigators confirmed lethal methanol levels in six more bodies, authorities said Saturday.

The victims, whose bodies were delivered between September 10 and 17 from the Volosovsky district of the Leningrad region, fell victim to cheap, homemade alcohol—a recurring problem in Russia, where high levels of alcoholism remain a persistent concern, despite improvements since the 1990s.

“Forensic examination of six deceased persons revealed high or lethal levels of methanol,” the Investigative Committee, Russia’s main investigative body, confirmed.

Three suspects linked to the case have been detained and are awaiting trial.

Incidents involving toxic alcohol are not new in Russia. In 2023, prosecutors sentenced two people to nearly a decade in prison for producing and selling counterfeit cider that killed 50 people. In 2016, more than 60 people died in Siberia’s Irkutsk region after consuming contraband bath oil containing methanol.

Despite tougher legislation, cheap home-made spirits using alcohol substitutes remain widely available, especially in rural areas where vodka prices are high and living standards are low.