BBC: Russia still grappling with anthrax past “All those who fell ill were people who, for one reason or another, had been outside at night or early in the morning” In April 1979, an Anthrax outbreak killed 68 people. The gov’t blamed it on tainted meat… however, in 1992 Yeltsin admitted that it was due to an accident at a germ warfare laboratory. Little else is known about the accident, however.