Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said yesterday that poisoning by bootleg alcohol amounts to a "national tragedy" killing some 42,000 people a year.Nurgaliyev said that much of the alcohol was sold in bottles labelled as brands that officially disappeared long ago. He told local media, "For example, the cognac Bely Aist has not existed for three years but you can find it in shops. It is fake cognac and all there is in the bottle is a liquid that is dangerous for health and life".
He also claimed that 40 per cent of Georgian wine for sale and 70 per cent of Moldovan wine was faked.
