Mass Alcohol Poisoning Leaves 32 Dead in Russia

A Russian businessman has been arrested and charged with supplying illicit hard cider that has poisoned dozens of people.

State news agency RIA Novosti reported that 32 people in Russia's Volga region had died and dozens had been hospitalized after drinking the alcohol, which had been labeled "Mr Cider."

Among those who had died, 20 were from the Ulyanovsk oblast, nine were from Samara and the other three were from the oblasts of Nizhny Novgorod and Udmurtia.

The Ulyanovsk regional health ministry said that it had dealt with 62 cases of poisoning and that 88 beds had been deployed in the region to provide medical assistance to the victims. It described said that those who had been hospitalized were in "moderate to severe" condition.

In a statement it warned people not to drink hard cider and alcoholic cocktails for the time being because "you can put your life in mortal danger." It also advised people to inform the police if they saw the sale of the drink labeled "Mr Cider."

Regional governor Alexei Russkikh said on his Telegram channel that the product had been sold on tap after being brought into the region in kegs. Local media reported that the hard cider contained lethal amounts of methanol which is much more toxic than the ethanol found in regular alcoholic drinks. Victims reportedly suffered nausea and headaches, with some allegedly going blind.

Samara businessman Anar Husyenov, 32, founder of the Andi company that supplied the drink, was arrested and charged with providing services that do not meet safety requirements, local outlet 73 Online reported. He has pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, Russkikh called on local retail outlets to stop selling hard cider and that police were seizing the drinks around the region.

Next to images of him in hospital, Russkikh said he had visited patients being treated for the poisoning, two of whom were in intensive care. Other victims being treated were a pregnant woman and a 16-year-old girl.

Poisoning from the drink was first reported on June 4 when a resident from the city of Shumikha was hospitalized after consuming the beverage, which had been delivered to a store from another region.

The problem of counterfeit alcohol has plagued Russia for years. Russia has tightened controls on the production of alcohol after dozens died drinking cheap moonshine in Siberia in 2016. In October 2021, at least 17 people died from poisoning after drinking bootleg alcohol in central Russia's Orenburg region.