MOSCOW — Dozens of people in the Siberian city of Irkutsk died after drinking cheap surrogate alcohol over the weekend, evoking memories of the poverty and social depression that came after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The tragedy was a reminder that while President Vladimir V. Putin may be taking a star turn on the world stage — dominating the war in Syria and alarming European and American leaders who fear the Kremlin is undermining democracy — Russia remains in many respects a struggling country. For all his bravado, Mr. Putin continues to wrestle with domestic economic woes, widening inequality and endemic corruption.

The economy, deeply dependent on oil revenues, was thrown into recession in 2015, after a collapse in oil prices, and is just now emerging tentatively into positive territory. The ensuing collapse of the ruble and Western economic sanctions over the Kremlin’s maneuvers in Crimea and Ukraine have hit living standards hard.

The number of victims in Irkutsk — 49 dead, as of late Monday — evoked earlier periods in Russian history when alcohol was restricted and people turned to substitutes. Under Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who in the mid-1980s ordered shelves emptied of vodka and historic vineyards razed, many Russians drank after-shave, window cleaners and antifreeze.