Nearly 80 people in Siberia died in early December from drinking similar substances Russian officials recently banned.
As the year 2016 comes to a close, here's a look at some of the major air disasters of the year.
The military plane, which was carrying 92 people, crashed Sunday while on its way from Sochi to Latakia province in western Syria.
The plane, carrying a total of 84 passengers and eight crew members, was en route to Latakia province in western Syria.
Vladimir Putin's popular political opponent plans to run for president in two years, if the Russian government doesn't jail him on corruption charges first.
Britain’s Defense Minister Michael Fallon warned in September about military buildup in Crimea "and indeed the militarization of the Black Sea region generally. Both Bulgaria and Romania feel very threatened."
Citing a "changing military-political situation," the new law would allow soldiers for hire to guard against "the suppression of international terrorist activities beyond the territory of Russia."
With 93 percent of the votes counted, Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party is on course to win 76 percent of the seats in the country’s parliament.
The naval exercise marks the largest operation held by the two countries' navies and comes as the U.S., Japan, Vietnam and other nations are challenging China's territorial claims in the region.
Squeezed by Western sanctions over its role in the Ukraine crisis, the government is trying to rejuvenate domestic industrial production.
Squeezed by Western sanctions over its role in Ukraine, the Russian government is trying to rejuvenate domestic industrial production.
Russian government officials have admitted they expect no economic growth in 2016.
Russia plays an important role in the region as its former imperial and Soviet-era overlord. It is also the main seller of weapons to both countries.
Russian state bank Vneshekonombank has funded many of President Vladimir Putin's expensive projects, including the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Russia should examine whether flight safety rules need to be tightened after a Flydubai crash killed 62 people, the nation's prime minister said.
Slumping oil prices and Western sanctions make it likely that its crisis-hit economy will contract for a second consecutive year.
Russian vodka exports reportedly fell to their lowest levels in a decade.
The transportation of goods by truck between the two countries is the latest target in the trade war between Moscow and Kiev.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says sanctions on Moscow and military activities close to the Russian border “only aggravate” tensions between the two sides.
The country’s Labor Ministry predicted that unemployment will hit 6 percent this year, as sanctions and the low price of oil take their toll.
The country, reeling under a double whammy of falling oil prices and U.S. and EU sanctions, reported its worst economic performance since 2009.
Russia’s economy was booming a year and a half ago when oil prices were higher, but now officials need to make cuts.
