A vodka-drinking competition in a southern Russian town ended in tragedy with the winner dead and several runners-up in intensive care. The competition lasted 30, perhaps 40 minutes and the winner downed three half-liter bottles. He was taken home by taxi but died within 20 minutes. Russians drink the equivalent of 15 liters of pure alcohol per head annually, one of the highest rates in the world. Some experts estimate one in seven Russians is an alcoholic.
Post originally written on radioaffliction.bigstep.com courtesy of archive.org, and here is a follow up link that still exists of the story form Democratic Underground
