News
Publish date: April 29, 2004
News
Prosecutor Igor Murashov asked the Severomorsk Fleet Court yesterday to send Admiral Gennady Suchkov to a prison village, where convicts work and live in their own homes but cannot leave, and to forbid him from holding a high-ranking post for three years after his release.
The trial, which opened Jan. 12, has been dragging on for months. After repeated delays due to Suchkov’s health and appeals from relatives of the perished sailors, the trial was postponed again yesterday when Suchkov was hospitalised with heart problems, a court spokesman told Interfax. The Navy’s commander, Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, told the court last month that Suchkov’s negligence had led to the sinking. Suchkov maintains his innocence. He has received the support of Murmansk Governor Yury Yevdokimov and 11 Navy captains, who, among others, signed an open letter to President Vladimir Putin on his behalf, Kommersant reported.
An accident aboard numerous Volgoneft oil tankers in the Kerch in mid December clearly show what can happen to aged ships when they are operated in bad weather—and when economic and military objectives are prioritized over the lives of crews and environmental safety.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
A visit last week by Vladimir Putin and a Kremlin entourage to Astana, Kazakhstan sought in part to put Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, on good footing with local officials.