Alcoholism is having a profound effect on Russia, where more than 42,000 people die each year from drinking bootleg alcohol and heavy drinking has pushed the average life expectancy down to 66, well below that of the neighboring European Union.

The Associated Press reported Nov. 12 that some Russians blame the rise in deaths from alcohol poisoning on the government, accused of limiting availability of vodka to justify a government monopoly on vodka sales. Observers point to the government's recently increased controls over the oil and gas industry for precedent.

"What they are saying about a wave of poisonings is ... aimed at creating an additional feeding trough for officials," said Andrei Shurikhin, president of the S.P.I. Group, owner of the international Stolichnaya trademark and Russia's biggest liquor producer.

Government media have been publicizing the overdose trend, and police are cracking down on counterfeiters, deploying special units in 14 regions to ferret out illicit alcohol plants.

The recent shortages of legitimate alcohol were blamed on bureaucratic inefficiency in issuing tax labels and a ban on Georgian and Moldovan wines. "The government created the black market this year," said Nataliya Zagvozdina, a Russian consumer goods analyst.

Consumer products containing alcohol, such as antiseptics, have been exempt from Russia's alcohol tax, making them popular among bootleggers. But drinking such substances can often be fatal.