Cold Combined With Alcohol Is Blamed for 31 Moscow Deaths

MOSCOW — A cold snap continued to take its toll on Moscow’s heavy drinkers, leaving 31 people frozen to death in the capital since the start of the month, the Russian Health Ministry said Wednesday. All the victims were drunk, the ministry added.

Thousands of homeless people, many of them alcoholics, have long used railroad stations, doorways and entrances to the subway system as night shelters in a city where no provision is made for the homeless. But worsening crime has forced residents of apartment blocks to seal off the doorways, and police drive the homeless from stations, depriving them of their last refuge in Moscow.

The Health Ministry said alcohol also played a role in injuries sustained by Muscovites falling on slippery pavement--53 of 128 registered victims had been drinking.

But one specialist said vodka might help those trying to negotiate the city’s often uncleared footpaths. “When you feel yourself starting to fall on the ice, it is best not to tense your muscles,” a doctor treating injuries said on Moscow television. “People who have had a lot to drink very rarely get hurt because they are 100% relaxed.”