Molotov cocktail
Probably most of us like cocktails, but today we will deal with another type of cocktail that can be classified in current history, but a completely different type from those common colorful alcoholic beverages that we first think of when we say the word cocktail. These are the so-called Molotov cocktails, which are a type of easily ignited hand-made bombs. They are used by rebels or those groups that do not have better weapons, and must or simply want to oppose a much superior enemy, a scenario that can be seen in Ukraine these days.
How the Molotov cocktail got its name
The first known use of these highly flammable cocktails was recorded in the late 1930s, during the Spanish Civil War.
The cocktail owes its famous name to the not-so-beloved Russian politician, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov during World War II, who was one of the signatories of the infamous Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union in late August 1939. and by which the warring parties agreed on the division of spheres of interest.
The thorn in the side of the Soviet Union at that time was Finland, which refused to cede part of its territory to the Soviets, after which there was an attack on Finland. The Soviets declared war on Finland on November 30, 1939, shortly after the Germans invaded Poland. Molotov was playing a humanitarian role at the time, claiming that Soviet planes were dropping humanitarian aid on Finnish territory because of the country's famine, but they were basically bombing the area. Due to such a policy of the high-ranking Molotov, the Finns ironically called these bombs "Molotov's bread basket". The Finns started mass production of these cocktails. This mixture in the Finnish version consists of ethanol, tar and gasoline in a 750 ml glass bottle. Matches were attached to both sides of the bottle. Before use, matches would be lit, and after the bottle was broken, its contents would be ignited.
Molotov cocktails were especially effective in the so-called Winter war because early tanks were powered by gasoline that could be ignited more easily than modern tanks powered by diesel.
How is this cocktail made?
To make this cocktail you need a glass container into which a flammable liquid is poured. This liquid can be gasoline, alcohol and the like. After that, the bottle is wrapped in a cloth, the simplest of which was to push the fabric into the bottle. Basically, military experts say that the Molotov cocktail is similar to napalm bombs. There are other variants, in which, among other things, various alcoholic beverages are used for their preparation. In addition to these deadly ones, stinking invariants of the Molotov cocktail are also made, such as those in which feces were put in jars, and then they were thrown at opponents. This tactic was used by protesters for the 2017 political unrest in Venezuela.
These today in the news we can see first hand the popularity of Molotov cocktails, because the cocktail is widely made and used by the citizens of Ukraine who can not come to terms with the current developments. Although these cocktails will not bring victory to the Ukrainians, and of which they are aware, the production and use of these weapons seems to break the destructive feeling of powerlessness present in them and compensate for it with a sense of action and opposition to the enemy and his great appetites.
