Towards the 21st December...

A bottle of vodka - a peculiarly Russian way of meeting the end of the world!

Apocalypse Ready! Siberian company begins selling End-Of-The-World survival kits

Marina Mendelson wedding agency sells Last Day sets in Tomsk. (RIA Novosti / Yakov Andreev)

RT,

27 November, 2012

It might not keep you alive for long, but a Siberian firm is offering survival kits to anyone who fears the end of the world is nigh. And for everyone else, it makes for a fun stocking-filler come Christmas – provided the world hasn’t ended by then!

The apocalypse kit boasts medication, including heart medicine, soap, some candles and matches, a can of fish, a pack of buckwheat, a bottle of vodka, a notepad and pencil – and a rope (possibly intended for the less optimistic!).

It also includes a blank ID card, to be filled in by hand should your existing IDs and cards be “demagnetized” during the apocalypse.

"Kit For Meeting the End of the World – It won't get worse!". (RIA Novosti / Yakov Andreev)

There’s also something for the young and the young at heart. The kit includes an instruction card with rules to various games to pass away any apocalypse-induced boredom.

Surprisingly produced by a bridal party operator in Tomsk, Western Siberia, the kit will set you back 890 rubles – roughly $28.

But the Russians are not the first to offer such a gimmick. A Mexican company also launched a similar kit back in April. Its contents however did differ slightly. A knife, water and chocolate seemed to be the Latin American country’s idea of necessities for survival.

A Mexico-based studio has also created an end-of-the-world survival kit, in anticipation of the end times. (Image from menosunocerouno.com)

But it did also boast ‘Mayan liquor’, showing that the importance of wanting to take the edge off things in a time of need is universal.

According to a spokesperson for the Siberian company, more than 1,000 kits have already been sold, and apparently it has become a hit among corporate New Year presents.

Last Day kits. (RIA Novosti / Yakov Andreev)

The company has repeatedly stated the kit is meant to be taken with a pinch of salt, however, the joke has not gone down well with local authorities which, according to Sostav.ru, are apparently trying to ban sales over the kit’s inclusion of vodka and medication – as both require licenses to be sold.

The apocalyptic craze is set to intensify in the coming weeks as the ancient Mayan calendar comes to an end on the 21st of December, the day many believe will signal the end of the world.

RIA Novosti has reported that people across Russia have been stealing essentials and trying to weasel out of debts, citing the upcoming demise of the world as we know it.

Although hypotheses about the exact means of delivering the apocalypse have been voiced, most have dismissed by mainstream scientists.