The man consumed three litres of Russia’s national drink during the supermarket competition before falling ill and dying (Picture credit: Getty)

A Russian man died after downing three litres of vodka in a competition where the prize was 10 bottles of the potent spirit.

The unnamed victim was among five competitors rushed to intensive care following the ‘Who can drink more vodka’ challenge, set up by a supermarket in Volgodonsk, south west Russia.

Medics raced to the Saveliy store and diagnosed a total of six participants with severe intoxication.

Police are probing the organisers, who offered a case of 10 bottles of vodka to the ‘winner’, and are considering criminal charges against shop bosses.


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Doctor Mikhail Kravchenko, who treated the dead man, said: ‘He managed to drink about three litres of vodka, which most likely wouldn’t have ended in death if it was a normal person.’

A total of 40 men entered the tournament, which saw them down the highly intoxicating drink in buckets.

Staff laid on salami and bread to line their stomachs but just minutes after drinking the vast volume of vodka, competitors complained of feeling seriously ill.

The supermarket is thought to have violated Russian advertising laws that prohibit the promotion of heavy drinking.

But Vice Regional Prosecutor Sergey Labenets admitted the organisers may escape punishment because the entrants agreed to join in voluntarily.

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Russia is a notoriously hard-drinking nation with alcohol consumption among the highest in the world.

Only drinkers in fellow former Soviet countries Belarus, Moldova and Lithuania put away more booze.

Its culture for drinking spirits rather than lower alcohol tipples, such as beer and wine, puts Russian drinkers’ health at particular risk.

In Russia’s macho drinking culture, it is considered unmanly to order vodka by the glass and seasoned boozers order it by the bottle or in a carafe.

The UK comes 25th in the World Health Organisation’s league table of alcohol consumed per capita, behind countries including France, Germany and Australia.

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