European Forum

Government of Perm region (Russia) resigns over fire in night club

On December 9th it was announced that the government of the Russian Perm region decided to resign in connection with the recent fire in a major night club in the city of Perm, which has taken the lives of 125 people so far. The resigned include Perm Minister of Trade Marat Bimatov, Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kudryavcev and Minister of Public Security Igor Orlov. The decision to resign was made so as to ensure an objective investigation into the causes of the fire as some public figures and state bodies have been connected to the ownership of the club, and thus its management (including fire safety). The new government will be formed after the investigation is concluded.

The governor of the region, Chirkunov, is expected to resign in the near future as well.

Another resignation was announced by the head of the city’s administration, Arkadi Kac, in reaction to ‘the tragic events that shook the city as well as [himself]’. He explained his delay in resigning by wishing to deal with all the consequences of the tragedy first.

The wave of resignations that also includes other civil servants - whose activities can in one way or another be connected to the causes of the fire and fire safety mismanagement - comes a day after a harsh public reprimand by President Medvedev, who called the owners and managers of the night club ‘irresponsible scoundrels’. He also called on the prosecutor’s office to deal with all those responsible, including civil servants and representatives of overseeing organs of government. In a telephone conversation with governor Chirkunov, the President also demanded sanctions against all those responsible for the tragedy, including civil servants of the region’s administration.

The fire that occurred in one of Perm’s most popular night clubs has caused much controversy and is seen as one of Russia’s biggest tragedies of the recent years. 5, 6, and 7 December were announced days of mourning in Perm, and December 7th was a national day of mourning the Russian Federation.

Sources: Newsru.com, Gazeta.ru, source photo: prm.ru