‘My family is dead and the regime is to blame’

MOSCOW• Am an who lost his entire family in the Russia mall fire has blamed corruption at the highest level for the inferno that killed at least 64 people, many of them children.

“My family is not here any more. The ruling regime in my country is to blame. Every official dreams to steal like ( Vladimir) Putin,” wrote Igor Vostrikov, who lost his three children, wife and sister in the blaze. Vostrikov was among thousands of angry Russians who rallied for more than 10 hours Tuesday in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, demanding the ouster of regional officials for the fire that trapped many people in a cinema.

The cinema had its doors locked to prevent people who hadn’t bought tickets entering after the movie started. Witnesses also reported that fire alarms were silent.

“Hearing about so many children who died fills you with a desire to not simply cry but to wail,” a sombre-faced Putin said. “We lost so many people because of criminal negligence and sloppiness.”

Putin noted the highly combustible materials used to convert the mall from a Soviet- era confectionary factory and the absence of a functioning fire safety system, saying that investigators will track down all those responsible.

Emergency officials reported that 58 bodies had been recovered and that rescue workers were still searching for six more in the city that is 3,000 kilometres east of Moscow. They said 41 of the victims were children.

The blaze engulfed the Winter Cherry mall Sunday, the first weekend of the school recess.

At the protest rally, Vostrikov addressed deputy governor Sergei Tsivilyov saying the families of the victims think the death toll was much higher than authorities have stated because the entire movie theatre burnt down.

“We’re not calling f or blood,” he said. “The children are dead, you can’t give them back. We need justice.”

When Tsivilyov dismissed the comments as “a PR stunt,” Vostrikov shouted that he had lost his wife, sister and three daughters, aged two, five and seven, in the fire.

“They died because they were locked in a movie theatre,” Vostrikov told the Dozhd television station. “They were calling from there, asking for help: ‘ We’re locked in, we’re suffocating!’ No one helped because when the blaze broke out, everyone ran away.”

On social media, Vostrikov blamed officials for enriching themselves with state money at the expense of people’s safety. “Every government official treats people like dirt — and his bosses treat him in the same way as all those who are beneath them.”

He added, “They will appoint a scapegoat and close down the case and the threats will remain — negligence, total corruption, drinking and general degradation of the whole population.”

The impromptu protest reflected residents’ deep frustration with the official response to the tragedy. The local governor has still not visited the site of the fire or met with relatives, and Putin waited a day before travelling to Kemerovo and declaring nationwide mourning.

Facing public outrage, the Kremlin declared Wednesday a day of mourning.

Another deputy governor, Vladimir Chernov, told the rally in Kemerovo that unconfirmed reports of hundreds of deaths at the mall were untrue and said he was ready to resign if people wanted him to.

Kemerovo’s mayor asked the rally to nominate representatives to visit the morgue to check for themselves that the authorities were not hiding the truth about the deaths. A dozen protesters did so, and Putin met with them in the lobby, telling them to “not even doubt” that the culprits will be punished.

In cities across Russia, tens of thousands were bringing flowers and soft toys to makeshift memorials.

“I mourn together with all the people,” said computer expert Alexei Ivanov, 28, in St. Petersburg. “I think the reason for that tragedy is irresponsibility and corruption.”

Investigators arrested the mall’s director and four others who were responsible for fire safety. The director, Nadezhda Suddenok, told the court that she believed that the fire was caused by arson. She said one of her employees said flames first erupted in the children’s game room, quickly engulfing the rubber foam gear.