Friday Kremlin.ru published Defense Minister Serdyukov’s list of those responsible for the June 2 fire and explosion at the 102nd Artillery Munitions Arsenal.
Not surprisingly, small fish got dismissed while large ones got off with reprimands.
The text of Serdyukov’s report to President Medvedev concludes:
“The basic causes of what happened were nonobservance of the requirements of explosives and fire safety while working with munitions, a negligent attitude by the Central Military District directorate and the command of the 102nd arsenal toward fulfilling their immediate duties in organizing and supporting daily functions, but also not fulfilling the requirements of Russian Federation Government order No. 135 from 17 February 2000 regarding the establishment and designation of prohibited zones and areas.”
Those dismissed for failures before or during the disaster:
- General-Major S. V. Khokh, Chief, Technical Support Directorate, Central MD.
- Colonel L. V. Chumakov, Chief, Material-Technical Support Planning and Coordination Directorate, Central MD.
Those getting reprimands:
- Deputy Defense Minister, Army General D. V. Bulgakov.
- Commander, Central MD, General-Colonel V. V. Chirkin.
Those receiving severe reprimands:
- Acting Chief of Staff, Central Military District, General-Major S. A. Chuvakin.
- Chief, Main Missile-Artillery Directorate, RF Ministry of Defense, General-Major A. L. Romanovskiy.
- Chief, Material-Technical Support Planning and Coordination Department, RF Ministry of Defense, General-Lieutenant S. A. Zhirov.
Warned about incomplete duty fulfillment:
- Deputy Commander of the Central Military District for Material-Technical Support, General-Major Yu. A. Svintsov.
Dismissed early for nonfulfillment of contract terms:
- Acting Chief, Missile-Artillery Armaments Service, Central Military District, Colonel A. N. Kozlov.
- Section Chief (base, arsenal, and depot administration and security), Material-Technical Support Planning and Coordination Directorate, Central Military District, Colonel Kh. Kh. Beglov.
- Chief, 102nd Arsenal (artillery munitions, 1st rank), Central Military District, Colonel Yu. I. Banin.
Russian Defense Policy 