Krokodil’s Legacy


The Krokodil is a home-made drug produced with highly toxic chemicals such as iodine, hydrochloric acid, solvents and phosphorus. Those who use it shut themselves up in the house and engage themselves in a continuous cycle of preparation and getting high, reaching even 50 injections in one day. The desomorphine that is "cooked" is highly impure and has devastating effects on muscle tissue, brain cells and organs. In most of Russian cities the Krokodil is widespread in the suburbs as an alternative to heroin. According to local activists in Yekaterinburg more people died because of Krokodil than from heroin.

The Krokodil is a home-made drug produced with highly toxic chemicals such as iodine, hydrochloric acid, solvents and phosphorus. The main ingredient is the desomorphine, an opiate that is obtained through the synthesis of codeine, a painkiller for headaches available in any pharmacy. Those who use it shut themselves up in the house and engage themselves in a continuous cycle of preparation and getting high, reaching even 50 injections in one day, with an effect that lasts about 40 minutes each time. The desomorphine that is “cooked” is highly impure and has devastating effects on muscle tissue, brain cells and organs. Liver, kidneys and heart are the first organs to be affected. Those who use it have a life expectancy of about three years. In most of Russian cities the Krokodil is widespread in the suburbs as an alternative to heroin. According to local activists in Yekaterinburg more people died because of Krokodil than from heroin. Although in 2014 federal authorities announced that Krokodil had been practically eradicated from the streets, its heavy legacy still mark the body of the users who survived and the life of the people who lost their beloved.