Molotov cocktail

A Molotov cocktail is a crude incendiary weapon which consists of a glass bottle filled with flammable liquid, usually gasoline (petrol) (methanol or ethanol, often mixed with tar are other common choices), and a rag stuffed in the mouth of the bottle. The weapon is used by lighting the rag and throwing the bottle at the target. The bottle shatters on impact, spilling the burning liquid over the target. Sometimes, if available, self-inflammatory materials (such as white phosphorus), could also be used to guarantee the bottle's explosion as it hits the target surface. Molotov cocktails are easy to make and are the standard weaponry of guerrilla warfare and violent rioters.

The name "Molotov cocktail" is derived from Vyacheslav Molotov, who was the Foreign Minister and Secretary of War of the Soviet Union during World War II. The soldiers of the Finnish army[?] successfully used Molotov cocktails against Red Army tanks in the two conflicts between Finland and the Soviet Union and coined the term. Molotov cocktails were even mass-produced by the Finnish military, bundled with matches to light them.