Russia’s Emergencies Minister Evgeny Zinichev died during drills in the Arctic city of Norilsk, the ministry reported on Wednesday, September 8. Spokespeople for the Emergency Situations Ministry (MChS) said that Zinichev died while trying to save filmmaker Alexander Melnik, who also died during the incident. Sources told local new sites that Zinichev and Melnik died on Lake Lama; there are also unconfirmed reports that six other people were injured during the drills. Zinichev was appointed emergencies minister in May 2018. He previously served as deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and as a part of President Vladimir Putin’s personal security detail. Putin expressed his deepest condolences over the minister’s death.
Russia’s Emergency Situations Minister Evgeny Zinichev died during interagency drills that began in Norilsk on Tuesday, September 7. “We regret to report that Emergency Situations Ministry Head Evgeny Zinichiev tragically died saving a person’s life while on duty in Norilsk during interagency drills on protecting the Arctic zone from emergency situations,” said the ministry’s press service on Wednesday. Zinichiev was 55 years old.
Filmmaker Alexander Melnik also died during the incident, according to Interfax. Melnik was in Norilsk scouting filming locations for a new documentary about the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route. MChS spokespeople said that Zinichev died while trying to save Melnik. Earlier RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said that Melnik was standing on the edge of a cliff with the minister when he slipped and fell into the water. “There were plenty of eyewitnesses — no one had time to even grasp what had happened when Zinichev threw himself into the water after a man who had fallen and crashed against a protruding rock,” Simonyan wrote.
A source told the news site Taiga.Info that Zinichev and Melnik died on Lake Lama, which is located 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) from Norilsk, in the northwestern part of the Putorana Plateau. According to unconfirmed information reported by the Krasnoyarsk-based publication Prospekt Mira, six other people were injured during the drills. The outlet didn’t provide any further details about the circumstances surrounding these alleged injuries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin expressed condolences over Zinichev’s death. “President Putin has expressed his deepest condolences over the tragic death of Evgeny Zinichev. The president and Zinichev worked together for many years. It is a great loss. The president has sent a message of condolences to Zinichev’s family and friends,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday.
Zinichev had led the Emergency Situations Ministry since May 2018. Before that, he worked in Putin’s personal security detail for nearly ten years (2006–2015), accompanying him on working trips. In the summer of 2016, he was appointed governor of the Kaliningrad region, but he stepped down of his own accord after two months. Officially, Putin said that Zinichev asked to be transferred to Moscow for family reasons, but the media reported that he had “problems with the publicity” that came with serving as head of the region. In October 2016, Zinichev was appointed Deputy Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), a post he remained in until becoming emergencies minister. Zinichev had also been a member of Russia’s Security Council since May 2018.
Alexander Chupriyan was appointed head of the Emergency Situations Ministry temporarily, a source in the ministry told RBC. The 63-year-old has worked for MChS since 2002. From 2006 to 2018 he was the ministry’s deputy head, first under Sergey Shoygu (who is now Russia’s defense minister) and then under Vladimir Puchkov. In June 2018, shortly after Zinichev’s appointment, Chupriyan became first deputy emergencies minister.
Story by Grigory Levchenko
Translation by Eilish Hart