Kemerovo shopping mall
© Alexandr Kryazhev / Sputnik
While the West freaks out about an imaginary Russia hellbent on destroying their civilization and killing their spies, Russia has her own problems to deal with. On Sunday a major fire broke out in a shopping mall in Kemerovo, Siberia. An estimated 64 people died in the blaze, including up to 40 children. Dozens were injured or suffered from smoke inhalation. The town is in mourning, residents are protesting the corruption that enabled the tragedy to occur, and Putin has visited the town to express his condolences and make sure justice is served.

A preliminary investigation has so far determined that the mall was riddled with "flagrant violations" in code and security:
"It turned out that the fire exits were blocked," spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. She added that the investigators already "received evidence of flagrant violations which led to such grave consequences" both during the commissioning of the building and while it was in use.

Authorities are also looking into a security guard, hired by a private company, who allegedly turned off the fire alarm system when the blaze started. The motive behind the move is unknown but his actions qualify for violation of fire safety requirements and the guard may face up to 7 years in prison, experts estimate.

The guard may become the fifth detainee in connection with the tragedy. Four suspects, namely one executive of the company, which owns the building, a tenant of the mall section, where the fire is believed to have started, and the director and an employee of the company which operated the fire alarm have been questioned already.
Hundreds are rallying for regional authorities to take responsibility and resign.


One resident who attended the rally is Igor Vostrikov, whose entire family - wife, sister, and three children - died in the fire.
"We do not lust for blood here. The children are dead already, we can't bring them back. But we need clear justice," the traumatized father said, addressing the deputy governor of Kemerovo. Vostrikov also called for the pursuit of those who are really guilty, rather than just identifying "scapegoats."

A man whose daughter was trapped in the mall shared his story during the rally. The man recalled his phone conversation with his child. "I am here, dad," she said crying. "I told her 'lie down to the floor and breathe. Breathe, don't die,'" the man said.

Locals were heard chanting "truth" and "murderers" during the rally.

After seven hours of protest, the regional administration called for it to end and for residents to go home. According to RIA Novosti, the crowd replied with "a disapproving hum". The deputy governor of the region, Sergey Tsivilev, at least had the integrity to attend the rally, along with a few other officials. After the call to end the protest, he fell to his knees for about 10 seconds, begging for forgiveness.


"I want to beg you for forgiveness," Tsivilev said. "Since long ago, Russian people got to their knees when asking for forgiveness," he said. The deputy governor spent around 10 seconds kneeling.

President Putin visited Kemerovo today, laying flowers by the makeshift memorial for the victims. He met with several officials, during which the degree of criminal negligence was made clear. Officials told him the fire alarm system had been down since March 19 and "nobody fixed it". Permit issues were not properly dealt with and inspections were not conducted in two years because of a "tax holiday". After hearing from their own answers the degree to which they failed in their duties and their poor excuses for their own negligence, Putin had this to say: "When they name the number of victims, the first feeling one gets is not to cry but to howl. And the things being said here evoke quite different emotions, I will be honest with you."
What is going on here? It is not a war, not an unexpected methane explosion at a mine. People, children came to a mall for entertainment. We talk about demography and now we have lost so many people. Why? Because of criminal negligence and mismanagement. How could this have happened and what were the causes? Just look at the consequences.

He promised that justice will be served. Those responsible will be found and punished after a thorough investigation. "Every official's actions need to be legally assessed," he said. "They'll sign anything for money." In the local hospital, Putin met with family members and protesters, and confronted the city's mayor, Ilya Seredyuk:
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: (To Ilya Seredyuk.) How long have you been mayor?

Kemerovo Mayor Ilya Seredyuk: Since 2016, or two years as mayor. Before that, I was deputy mayor for six years.

Vladimir Putin: How come you issued the permit?

Ilya Seredyuk: <...> I was head of a municipality and then returned to the city. During that period, in 2014 the permit was issued for commissioning the section where the tragedy happened.

Vladimir Putin: Nothing was checked for two years. There were no inspections for two years.

Ilya Seredyuk: Mr President, there was an inspection.

Vladimir Putin: When? In 2016?

Ilya Seredyuk: The State Fire Inspection issued instructions.

Vladimir Putin: In 2016. Now is 2018.

Ilya Seredyuk: Instructions were given and then the building was sold.

Vladimir Putin: Selling has nothing to do with it. Safety must be ensured. Sold or not sold, what does it matter? Safety must always be ensured, right? What difference does it make who the owner is? Services must operate properly to provide security. Where are these services?
...
Vladimir Putin: An investigative team of 100 people is working here. They will look at every link in the chain, from those who issued permits to those responsible for monitoring safety and security, the private security companies whose staff were there and did not push the panic button in time, and so on and forth. They will follow the chain starting from the re-registration of the building and the permit that allowed a factory to be turned into an entertainment centre, to those who permitted those materials to be used in a facility of this purpose. This is a disgrace, no doubt about it.

Remark: Can we have your word that the investigation will be strictly under control and we will find out the truth?

Vladimir Putin: Do not even doubt it.

Remark: And that it will be as transparent as possible?

Vladimir Putin: Rest assured.

Remark: And those guilty will be punished?

Vladimir Putin: There's no need to doubt that.

Remark: The people want them to be brought to justice.

Vladimir Putin: That will be so. Let us not jump to any conclusions right now or point fingers. These 100 investigators are working on every aspect of the incident, you can rest assured.

Remark: Will it be a full investigation?

Vladimir Putin: A full investigation, absolutely.
...
Remarks: "May I ask a question? In the wake of this tragedy, my question is, will Tuleyev keep his post?" "Mr President, the people do not want him as governor." "He is the problem. By the way, the mayor is doing his job. Although he failed this time." "He is the only person who met with us, who had the guts to meet with the public." "He is a true citizen."

Vladimir Putin: What is your name?

Remark: Kostya.

Vladimir Putin: Kostya, you see, a terrible tragedy happened, terrible. To make decisions of this kind... First, one should not make them on camera, for the sake of dramatic effect in the wake of a tragedy. This is the first point. Second, we must find out for certain who is to blame and for what. Once we succeed - and we will succeed - decisions will be taken.

Remark: Regardless of status?

Vladimir Putin: Absolutely. Status does not matter when it comes to loss of life.

While visiting the grieving city, the president also made a stop at the local hospital where the survivors of the inferno are being treated. One of them - Ivan Zavarzin, 18, who jumped from the window to escape the blaze - told Putin that no one initially understood what was going on and even thought it was only a fire drill.
Putin ordered in a decree that tomorrow, March 28, be declared a national day of mourning: "Expressing sorrow for the dead and condolences to their families and friends, I order March 28, 2018 be declared a day of mourning in Russia."

Petty corruption like this is still a problem in Russia today - a legacy of the catastrophic 90s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As Putin said, these people will sign anything for money. Cheap materials, poor construction, cutting corners, no maintenance, bribes to avoid regulations. The gulf between the behavior of the regional officials and the people couldn't be wider. While Tsivilev did appear before the crowd, he also accused a man whose family died in the fire of using the tragedy to "hype" himself. Governor Tuleyev told Putin that the protesters "are not relatives of the dead, but constant troublemakers."

Contrast with the stories of the heroism of ordinary Russians:
A group of surviving children said that a man had led them out - he reassured everyone so that they did not panic, and led them out of the burning room. They don't remember what he looked like, and whether he went back into the building. "I would like to meet him and personally thank him," says the mother of the rescued child.

But there are brave people whose names are known. A teacher of foreign languages, ​​Tatyana Darsalia, was in the complex with her 14-year-old daughter Eli. The woman managed to get her daughter out of the building, and then, knowing that there are children there, she went back into the building, managing to bring out a couple more at a time. Until the last moment, her relatives and colleagues hoped that Tatyana was alive, but she never made it out again. Her name is on the list of the victims.

Journalists also became aware of another hero. Fortunately, he managed to survive. The 17-year-old cadet of the Ministry of Emergency Measures, Dima Polukhin, grabbed three children from the burning shopping center while escaping himself.

He had already descended to the third floor (from the fourth) when he heard a woman screaming: "I'm not going anywhere, I have children left there!"

"I went up to her, asked where they were. She was incomprehensible, just waved her hand to one side, I went there - a shop, a second second, a third shop... Nobody there. And then I heard children's screams", - said the young rescuer. Polukhin saw that in one of the rooms, covered by smoke, three kids were huddled in a corner.

"In the darkness, I fumbled and came across a hand, it was a boy of 11, as I later saw. I also grabbed two girls by the collar and dragged them to the exit," Dima said. The cadet Polukhin managed to bring all three out of the building.