Aman Tuleyev, governor of Kemerovo region says move is ‘the only right choice’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The longtime governor of a Russian region where a huge mall inferno killed dozens of people - most of them children - resigned on Sunday after bitter criticism over his response to the tragedy.



Aman Tuleyev, who had been at the helm of the coal-mining region of Kemerovo since 1997, said in a video address that he could no longer remain at his post with “such a heavy burden” and that resigning was “the only right choice”.

The Kremlin swiftly said that Vladimir Putin had accepted his resignation.

Tuleyev’s move is unusual as top officials in Russia rarely resign over failings in the emergency response to deadly tragedies.

But the huge fire which ravaged a shopping centre in the Siberian industrial city of Kemerovo last Sunday, killing at least 64 people including 41 children, plunged Russia into shock.

Play Video Aerial view of deadly Siberian shopping mall fire - video

Some parents lost all their children, and the youngest victim was a two-year-old boy.

Many people who lost relatives have said they perished because of inaction by firefighters and police lacking the necessary equipment and skills, while some said a cinema door was locked, trapping children inside.

Tuleyev, who himself lost a young relative in the blaze, came under heavy criticism for failing to visit the scene of the tragedy in the first few days or meet with angry relatives.



Putin had initially refused to sack the 73-year-old governor despite a rare protest which saw thousands of people pack a square in Kemerovo on Tuesday, the same day Putin travelled to the scene of the tragedy.

Tuleyev apologised to the president over the rally - where protesters also called for Putin’s resignation - calling its organisers troublemakers.

Seven people have been arrested in the aftermath of the blaze, investigators said.



The Kemerovo region has traditionally been considered one of Russia’s most troubled areas and some have feared that Tuleyev’s departure could spark a leadership crisis there.



Tuleyev, who first became governor in the era of president Boris Yeltsin in 1997, is one of Russia’s longest-serving top officials.

He was credited with helping pacify the region which was beset by miners’ strikes in the turbulent 1990s but had come to symbolise the worst excesses of authoritarianism in his later years, critics say.

Opposition politician Vladimir Milov said it would take “decades” for the region to recover from Tuleyev’s 21-year rule.



Sergei Tsivilyov, who has been Tuleyev’s deputy since March, has been appointed acting governor, the Kremlin said. Tsivilyov is a business partner of one of Putin’s closest lieutenants, Gennady Timchenko, who has been under sanctions imposed on Russia for its role in the Ukraine conflict.</s>Aman Tuleyev has been heading the Kemerovo Region since 1997. His current mandate was due to expire in 2020. Tuleyev is stepping down as governor of Kemerovo Region before the expiration of his tenure, the administration official told Sputnik on Sunday.

Last week, a fire broke out in the "Zimnyaya Vishnya" ("Winter Cherry") shopping mall in the Russian city of Kemerovo. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, 64 people including 41 children were killed.

On Thursday, Russian media outlets reported that the Russian authorities have decided not to carry out demonstrative dismissal of Aman Tuleyev right after the deadly incident in the shopping mall, saying that governor might leave his office later.</s>According to the statement of the Kemerovo administration, Aman Tuleyev submits resignation as governor of the Russian Kemerovo region on a voluntary basis, according Sputnik.

Aman Tuleyev has been heading the Kemerovo Region since 1997. His current mandate was due to expire in 2020. Tuleyev is stepping down as governor of Kemerovo Region before the expiration of his tenure, the administration official told Sputnik on Sunday.

Last week, a fire broke out in the "Zimnyaya Vishnya" ("Winter Cherry") shopping mall in the Russian city of Kemerovo. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, 64 people including 41 children were killed.

Aman Tuleyev said in a video address that he had done his best as the head of the region and once again expressed his profound condolences to the relatives of the Zimnyaya Vishnya" mall fire victims.

"Dear residents of Kuzbass [Kemerovo region], I have done my best. I have met with the families of the victims, tried to solve the problems with delivering assistance [to the victims and their families]. I once again express my deep condolences. But we have to live, we have to move on. We have to live to remember those, whom we have lost," Tuleyev said.

Following the video address, Kremlin issued a statement, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the resignation of Tuleyev, appointing Sergei Tsivilev the region's provisional governor.

On Thursday, Russian media outlets reported that the Russian authorities have decided not to carry out demonstrative dismissal of Aman Tuleyev right after the deadly incident in the shopping mall, saying that governor might leave his office later.</s>Moscow: Aman Tuleyev, the longtime governor of Russia's Kemerovo region where a huge mall fire killed at least 64 people including 41 children last weekend, resigned on Sunday.

"I submitted my resignation letter to the Russian president," he said in a three-minute video address released by his office.

Tuleyev, who had been at the helm of the key coal-mining region since 1997, said he could no longer remain at his post with "such a heavy burden" and added that his resignation was "the only right choice".

At least 64 people — including 41 children — died when a huge fire ravaged a mall in the industrial city of Kemerovo in western Siberia last Sunday. The tragedy — in which some parents lost all their children — plunged Russia into shock.

Many people who lost relatives have said they died because of the inaction of firefighters and police lacking the necessary equipment and skills.

Tuleyev himself came under heavy criticism for failing to visit the scene of the tragedy in the first few days or meet with angry relatives. President Vladimir Putin had initially refused to sack the 73-year-old governor despite rare protests in the city. Officials have said that multiple safety rules were violated, the fire alarm system was not working and staff did not follow correct emergency procedures.</s>Governor of the Kemerovo Region Aman Tuleyev speaks during a meeting in Kemerovo, Russia March 7, 2018. — Reuters picMOSCOW, April 1 — The governor of Russia’s Kemerovo region resigned today over a mall fire that killed more than 60 after a litany of violations in safety procedures left shoppers and children trapped inside the building.

Aman Tuleyev, 73, said in a video posted on the regional administration’s website that stepping down was the only course of action possible. President Vladimir Putin accepted his resignation, the Kremlin said.

“With such a heavy burden, it’s impossible to work as the governor,” Tuleyev said. “It’s morally impossible.”

Last Sunday’s fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through a cinema complex and children’s play area on the upper floors of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the regional capital.

Investigators said last week that fire exits had been illegally blocked, the public address system was not switched on, the alarm system was broken, and children had been locked inside cinemas.

Putin said the incident had been caused by criminal negligence and that those responsible would be punished.

Today he appointed Sergei Tsivilyov, one of the region’s deputy governors, to replace Tuleyev as acting governor.

On Friday, police arrested an executive with the firm that owns the shopping mall.

The calamitous way the emergency was handled stirred public anger in Kemerovo and focused attention on corruption and lax fire safety standards. Rallies commemorating the victims were held across the country, including in Moscow and St Petersburg. — Reuters</s>Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Russia's Kemerovo region that suffered a fire last month that killed more than 60 people at a shopping mall, said on Sunday he was resigning from his post.

MOSCOW: Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Russia's Kemerovo region that suffered a fire last month that killed more than 60 people at a shopping mall, said on Sunday he was resigning from his post.

In a video address posted on the regional administration's website, Tuleyev said his resignation was "the right, conscious and only true decision" following of the deadly incident.</s>The governor of Russia's Kemerovo region resigned on Sunday over a mall fire that killed more than 60 people after a litany of violations in safety procedures left shoppers and children trapped inside the building.

Aman Tuleyev said in a video posted on the regional administration's website that resigning was the only course of action possible.

"With such a heavy burden, it's impossible to work as the governor," he said. "It's morally impossible."

Last Sunday's fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through a cinema complex and children's play area on the upper floors of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the regional capital.</s>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Russia’s Kemerovo region that suffered a fire last month that killed more than 60 people at a shopping mall, said on Sunday he was resigning from his post.

In a video address posted on the regional administration’s website, Tuleyev said his resignation was “the right, conscious and only true decision” following of the deadly incident.</s>FILE PHOTO - Governor of the Kemerovo Region Aman Tuleyev speaks during a meeting in Kemerovo

MOSCOW - The governor of Russia's Kemerovo region resigned on Sunday over a mall fire that killed more than 60 after a litany of violations in safety procedures left shoppers and children trapped inside the building.

Aman Tuleyev, 73, said in a video posted on the regional administration's website that stepping down was the only course of action possible. President Vladimir Putin accepted his resignation, the Kremlin said.

"With such a heavy burden, it's impossible to work as the governor," said Tuleyev, who governed the region for more than two decades. "It's morally impossible."

Last Sunday's fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through a cinema complex and children's play area on the upper floors of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the regional capital.

Investigators said last week that fire exits had been illegally blocked, the public address system was not switched on, the alarm system was broken, and children had been locked inside cinemas.

Putin said the incident had been caused by criminal negligence and those responsible would be punished.

On Sunday he appointed Sergei Tsivilyov, one of the region's deputy governors, to replace Tuleyev as acting governor.

Tsivilyov, 56, has served as the director of Kolmar, a coal mining and processing company, for the past four years.

"I want to tell you, residents of Kemerovo and all the region, that I will do everything for those guilty in this terrible tragedy to receive the harshest punishment," Tsivilyov said in a video address posted on the regional administration's website.

On Friday, police arrested an executive with the firm that owns the shopping mall.

The calamitous way the emergency was handled stirred public anger in Kemerovo and focused attention on corruption and lax fire safety standards. Rallies commemorating the victims were held across the country, including in Moscow and St Petersburg.</s>Longtime governor Aman Tuleyev says he could no longer remain at his post 'with such a heavy burden'

MOSCOW, Russia – Aman Tuleyev, the longtime governor of Russia's Kemerovo region where a huge mall fire killed at least 64 people including 41 children last weekend, resigned on Sunday, April 1.

Tuleyev, who had been at the helm of the key coal-mining region since 1997, said in a video address that he could no longer remain at his post with "such a heavy burden" and added that his resignation was "the only right choice".

President Vladimir Putin accepted his resignation, the Kremlin said.

The fire ravaged a mall in the industrial city of Kemerovo in western Siberia last Sunday, a tragedy that plunged Russia into shock.

Some parents lost all their children, and the youngest victim was a two-year-old toddler.

Many people who lost relatives have said they died because of the inaction of firefighters and police lacking the necessary equipment and skills.

Tuleyev himself came under heavy criticism for failing to visit the scene of the tragedy in the first few days or meet with angry relatives.

Putin – who travelled to Kemerovo last Tuesday, March 27 – had initially refused to sack the 73-year-old governor despite rare protests in the city.

Tuleyev apologized to the president over the rally – where protesters also called for Putin's resignation – calling its organizers troublemakers.

Officials have said that multiple safety rules were violated, the fire alarm system was not working and staff did not follow correct emergency procedures.

Sergei Tsivilyov, who has been Tuleyev's deputy since March, has been appointed acting governor, the Kremlin said.

The ailing Tuleyev had long been expected to leave the post.

The coal-mining Kemerovo region of around 2.7 million people has traditionally been considered one of Russia's most troubled regions and some have feared that Tuleyev's departure could spark a leadership crisis there.

Tuleyev, who first became governor in the era of president Boris Yeltsin in 1997, is one of Russia's longest-serving top officials.

He was credited with helping pacify the region which was beset by miners' strikes in the turbulent 1990s but had come to symbolise the worst excesses of authoritarianism in his later years, critics say.

Polls to elect a new governor will be held in September. – Rappler.com
Governor Aman Tuleyev of Russia's Kemerovo Oblast resigns over the disaster last week at the Winter Cherry complex. Tuleyev himself lost a young relative in the fire, but had faced protests in the aftermath.