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Viewing cable 09YEKATERINBURG84, POLITICAL REPRECUSSIONS FOLLOW PERM RESTAURANT FIRE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09YEKATERINBURG84 2009-12-18 08:38 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Yekaterinburg
VZCZCXRO9950
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHVK
DE RUEHYG #0084 3520838
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180838Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1399
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1043
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHLN/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 0622
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 0632
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 1437
UNCLAS YEKATERINBURG 000084 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT OF EUR/RUS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV RS
SUBJECT: POLITICAL REPRECUSSIONS FOLLOW PERM RESTAURANT FIRE 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Not for Internet Distribution. 
 
1.  (SBU) The tragic fire at the popular Lame Horse 
restaurant/club in Perm that claimed 149 lives on December 5 has 
had political repercussions that are still unspooling as the 
investigation into the incident continues.  According to our 
contacts in the Perm city administration, the city is still in 
mourning, and Perm Krai Governor Chirkunov has cancelled all 
public events. 
 
2.  (SBU) Prime Minister Putin visited Perm on December 8 and 
took the regional government to task.  The next day, all 
ministers submitted their resignations and will be serving in an 
acting capacity until the investigation is concluded.  Three 
regional ministers were dismissed outright:  Minister of Public 
Security Igor Orlov; Minister of Infrastructure and City 
Development Aleksander Kudryavtsev; Minister of Trade and 
Entrepreneurship Marat Bimatov.   National LDPR leader 
Zhirinovsky has called for Chirkunov's dismissal, but the 
governor's United Russia supporters have rallied to his defense. 
 Chirkunov's offer to resign his position was not accepted by 
the Kremlin.  The future of Perm City Manager Arkady Kaz, who is 
close to Chirkunov and is known as an effective manager, is also 
uncertain:  although the city duma did not accept his 
resignation, he has been suspended pending outcome of the 
investigation. 
 
 
3.  (SBU) The immediate cause of the fire -- an indoor fireworks 
display gone awry -- is quite clear, and responsibility for the 
large number of deaths could be widespread.  Obvious 
irregularities in the club's operation were reported in the 
press in the immediate aftermath of the fire:  fire and building 
code violations, including inadequate or blocked emergency 
exits, plastic decorations that emitted toxic fumes that were 
responsible for most of the deaths, and inattention to safety 
procedures all contributed to the death toll.  The local fire 
chief and officials responsible for conducting regular 
inspections have been dismissed and may face prosecution.  The 
club's main investor and general manager have been arrested, as 
has the owner of the pyrotechnic firm that supplied the 
fireworks.  The club's principal owner perished in the fire. 
 
 
4.  (SBU) Comment:  This is the second major disaster to befall 
Perm in the last 15 months:  a plane crash in September 2008 
killed 88.  Regardless of whether it was bureaucratic negligence 
or corruption that is ultimately deemed responsible for the many 
reported code violations that were allowed to persist in the 
club's operations, the tragedy could dim the star of the 
ambitious Chirkunov and may affect the futures of others on his 
team.  His plans for turning Perm into a cultural capital to 
rival Moscow and St. Petersburg may have to be put on hold. 
Moreover, members of post's locally-engaged staff were 
well-acquainted with the restaurant and its general manager, who 
was an alumna of a US international visitor program in the 
1990's and considered one of Perm's most prominent female 
entrepreneurs. 
 
SANDUSKY