Russian roulette


Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body, and pulls the trigger. If the loaded chamber aligns with the barrel after cocking, or is in the position which will be rotated to the barrel upon pulling the trigger, the weapon fires.

Etymology

The term Russian roulette was possibly first used in a 1937 short story of the same name by Georges Surdez, published in the January 30, 1937, edition of Collier's magazine:
References to the term in the context of the Collier's story appeared in some newspapers during 1937. The first independent appearances of the term in newspapers began in 1938 with the reports of young men being killed while playing it. The earliest instance appears to have been the death of a 21-year-old former journalism student in Austin, Texas, appearing in The Austin Statesman and some other Texas newspapers on January 8, 1938. At least four other deaths were attributed to Russian roulette during the year: a 34-year-old policeman in Peoria, Illinois, a 20-year-old in Houston, an 18-year-old in Saratoga Springs, New York, and a 16-year-old in Los Angeles.
The term has become a metaphor for taking foolhardy risks, and its usage steadily increased in reportage of diplomacy, politics, economics, medicine, and sports.

Origin

An early example of Russian roulette can be found in the short story "The Fatalist" within the 1840 novel A Hero of Our Time written by Russian poet and writer Mikhail Lermontov. In the story, which is set in a Cossack village, the protagonist, Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin, claims that there is no predestination and proposes a bet in order to prove it, laying about fifty gold pieces onto a table. A lieutenant of the dragoons of the Tsar, Vulič, a man of Serbian origins with a passion for gambling, accepts the challenge and randomly takes one of a number of pistols of various calibres from its nail, cocks it and pours gunpowder onto the pan. Nobody knows if the pistol is loaded or not. "Gentlemen! Who will pay 20 gold pieces for me?", Vulič asks, putting the muzzle of the pistol to his forehead. He then asks Grigory to throw a playing card in the air, and when the card lands, he pulls the trigger. The weapon fails to fire, but when Vulič cocks the pistol again and aims it at a service cap hanging over the window, a shot rings out and smoke fills the room.

Incidents

  • William Shockley, co-inventor of the transistor and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, claimed he attempted suicide by playing a solo game of Russian roulette.
  • In a 1946 U.S. legal case, Commonwealth v. Malone, 47 A.2d 445, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a teenager's conviction for murder in the second degree as a result of shooting a friend. The teenagers played a modified version of Russian roulette called Russian poker, in which they took turns aiming and pulling the trigger of the revolver at each other, rather than at themselves. The court ruled that "When an individual commits an act of gross recklessness without regard to the probability that death to another is likely to result, that individual exhibits the state of mind required to uphold a conviction of manslaughter even if the individual did not intend for death to ensue."
  • On 25 December 1954, American blues musician Johnny Ace killed himself in Texas, after a gun he pointed at his head discharged. A report in The Washington Post attributed this to Russian roulette, but it was disputed by two witnesses who said Ace was reckless with the gun but not playing Russian roulette.
  • Graham Greene related in his first autobiography, A Sort of Life, that he played Russian roulette alone a few times as a teenager.
  • Malcolm X, in his 1965 autobiography, recalls an incident during his burglary career when he played Russian roulette, pulling the trigger three times to convince his partners in crime that he was not afraid to die. In the epilogue, Alex Haley states that Malcolm X revealed to him that he palmed the round. The incident is portrayed in Spike Lee's 1992 film adaptation of the autobiography.
  • In 1972, under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday played multiple games of Russian roulette with singer Nanette Workman, then his mistress. Laeticia Smet, Hallyday's wife, revealed in 2018 that he "has done this several times. But that was a long time ago ... At the time, he was playing with his destiny".
  • On 24 July 1973, Dallas Police Officer Darrell L. Cain murdered Santos Rodriguez, a 12-year-old child, while interrogating him and his brother about a burglary. Cain shot Rodriguez after spinning the cylinder of his revolver, Russian roulette-style, in an effort to force a confession.
  • On 10 September 1976, Finnish magician Aimo Leikas killed himself before a crowd while performing his Russian roulette act in Hartola. He had been performing the act for about a year, selecting six bullets from a box of assorted live and dummy ammunition.
  • John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was known to have played Russian roulette alone on two occasions.
  • On 12 October 1984, while waiting for filming to resume on Cover Up, actor Jon-Erik Hexum played Russian roulette with a.44 Magnum revolver loaded with a blank. The blast fractured his skull and caused massive cerebral hemorrhaging when bone fragments were forced through his brain. He was rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center, where after five hours of surgery and six days in a coma, he was pronounced brain-dead.
  • On 10 July 1993, former French rugby player Armand Vaquerin died during a “demonstration” of Russian roulette in the Béziers bar “le bar des Amis” on avenue Gambetta.
  • On 5 October 2003, psychological illusionist Derren Brown appeared to take part in a game of Russian roulette live on UK television. Two days later, a statement by the police said they were informed of the arrangements in advance, and were satisfied that "There was no live ammunition involved and at no time was anyone at risk."
  • The BBC program Who Do You Think You Are?, on 13 September 2010, featured the actor Alan Cumming investigating his grandfather Tommy Darling, who he discovered had died playing Russian roulette while serving as a police officer in British Malaya. The family had previously believed he had died accidentally while cleaning his gun.
  • On 11 June 2016, fighter Ivan "JP" Cole apparently killed himself by playing Russian roulette.

    In culture

The Deer Hunter is a 1978 Vietnam War drama film about three Slavic-American steelworkers imprisoned by the Viet Cong and forced to participate in Russian roulette with captured South Vietnamese soldiers, while the jailers bet on who will survive. Several teen deaths following the movie's release caused both police and the media to accuse the film of inspiring the youths.
13 Tzameti is a 2005 dark psychological thriller by Georgian Babluani. Thirteen men undergo series of Russian roulette, arranging into a circle and pointing at the man in front of them. 'Tzameti' is the Georgian word for thirteen.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a 2005 dark comedy starring Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer. Downey uses Russian roulette while interrogating a man.
Live! is a 2007 mockumentary-thriller where a TV network executive tries to produce a reality show where contestants play Russian Roulette.
In Death Is a Problem for the Living two men, one a gambling addict and the other with 15% brain capacity left, start a hearse business, but end up in a criminal organization that runs an illegal Russian roulette game show.
Squid Game is a 2021 South Korean show where childish yet deadly games are played for the entertainment of a wealthy elite. In the episode "Bread and Lottery", two gangsters during an interrogation scene are forced to play rock paper scissors combined with Russian roulette.
In the Japanese manga and anime Kakegurui, Midari Ikishima is seen playing Russian Roulette alone multiple times, as characters in the story gamble in many different ways at a high school that becomes a casino after classes. In another manga and anime, Future Diary, protagonist Amano Yukiteru is forced to play Russian Roulette by policeman Keigo Kurusu while he is being interrogated.
In the 2025 film Superman, Lex Luthor plays a game of Russian Roulette with a hostage in order to interrogate and torture an imprisoned Superman.
Buckshot Roulette is a video game that is based on Russian roulette but involves the use of a pump action shotgun instead of the standard revolver.