Another crisis in Russia. It may be worse than Tuapse. “Everyone is silent”
Ecologists interviewed by independent media, comparing the volume of burning reservoirs, suggested that the fires in Perm may be more dangerous than those in Tuapse. At the same time, there is very little official information.
The Perm Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor) announced on April 29 that it was starting air quality monitoring, but has not yet published its results. The Ministry of Territorial Security and the FSB management in the Perm Oblast warn against responsibility for disseminating false information.
On April 30, smoke from the fire almost completely covered the center of Perm, including the city's main square. The streak resembles storm clouds.
2 thousand km
– The weather has spoiled us – complains a man walking with his son in the square. The boy has a new scooter. — On the other hand, the sky is always like this here, so it didn't surprise us.
There are few people in the square. The day before Christmas, May 1, is free.
— Everyone left, some to their dacha, some to their friends. Just in time for May kebabs – both business and pleasure.
In front of the building of the Permsky Academic Theater, skaters and cyclists gathered on the square.
“Be careful,” the man says to his son, who tries to imitate his older friends' tricks. — It's a pity that people here are never alert. Instead of recording drones on a phone, it would be better to call rescuers with that phone. The drone flew 2,000 km from the border, and if first one called, then the other and so on, the trajectory would be clear. They only have themselves to blame.
Many people actually have footage of the drone strike and subsequent fire. People exchange them and almost brag about it. At the same time, recordings published on the city's Telegram channels are of little interest to anyone: administrators, in compliance with legal requirements, hide characteristic elements of the terrain, leaving only clouds of smoke rising towards the sky in the frame. Almost no one likes this type of content. Uncensored photos and videos that are distributed privately are more appreciated.
“You are helping the enemy”
– This was filmed by a friend of my friend – says one of the skaters, showing a video of a burning oil tank. – He's a fireman.
– This is my girlfriend, she lives nearby in a skyscraper – says another, showing a panoramic photo. Apparently this is a shot from April 30: it shows plumes of smoke from two drone strikes.
There are also those who oppose publishing such photos and videos. “How limited we are. Why are you posting this? Even worse are the administrators who publish it. You are helping the enemy in targeting targets and further planning attacks,” writes one of the commenters on a local Telegram group.
On the Perm Online channel, it is proposed to ban not only photos and videos, but also the comments themselves. “Maybe give them the coordinates where to attack. Why are you discussing such things on their forum? [Ukraińców] eyes?!” writes one user in response to the comment.
Information about drone attacks circulates quite freely in neighborhood chat rooms. It discusses whether there is a bomb shelter in the house and advises what cleaning products to use to clean outer clothing, windows and cars from drops of “oil rain” deposited on them. Some people believe that the best remedy is sunflower oil.
Purulent vapors
In the same chat rooms, people share their assumptions about the possible goals of Ukrainian forces. There is an opinion that the Ukrainian military intended to attack the airport, but the drone did not reach there. The Russians are discussing what will happen in the event of attacks on dams on the river.
A separate issue is how fires will affect human health. “Now we have to inhale these pus fumes,” complains a user of a neighborhood chat in the city's industrial district. But no one wears masks in the city.
“I didn't wear them during the pandemic and I don't wear them now,” says the pharmacist, looking disapprovingly over her glasses at the grumpy customer. — It's better to stay at home and not go for a walk. Although that obviously won't help. It's dangerous anyway. But not right away. This will be reflected in 10 years in the form of cancer. We have masks in packs of 10 and 50, please take more.
There is no burning smell in the city center, but after a while it starts to tickle your throat. Oil refinery tanks are on fire near the village of Malinowka. The column of smoke can be seen from almost every point in the city and even from nearby towns.
The square next to the Perm shopping center is very crowded. Young people gather on the summer terrace, discussing plans for the long weekend. A street photographer invites you to take photos next to the sculpture.
Living in the shadow of attacks
“People are in a bad mood,” the photographer complains. – Plus, the lighting is terrible because of all the smoke. There are almost no customers. They shoo me away as if I were asking for alms. Although I take photos simply for myself, for the experience, for tips.
The photographer is 19 years old, born in St. Petersburg, and came to Perm for family reasons.
“I like it here too, I like it everywhere,” he says.
In the evening, three men gather in a bar opposite the shopping center. They are older than the other guests, they are 50 years old.
“Someone's oil tankers are on fire, and yours is a burning pipe,” one of them greets the other.
The conversation immediately turns to Ukraine's attacks. They exchange photos and videos that they took themselves or received from friends.
-What floor was this filmed from?
– Send it to me.
– And me too.
“They don't do anything f***ing.”
The one who joked about “burning pipes” at the beginning of the conversation tells in detail what he knows about the activities of the security forces and firefighters.
“They're not doing a f***ing thing,” the other man interrupts.
– But, but, but! — disagrees first. — Fire brigades from Izhevsk and Yekaterinburg are on their way. The guys are working. True, there is no foam to extinguish.
-Yes? But why?
– It wouldn't be enough for her anyway. Imagine it burning there.
– And why are they silent? Everyone is silent. Everyone knows everything and remains silent. Everyone sees everything and remains silent. “Machuni” is silent.
“Makhuni” is the nickname of the governor of the Perm Oblast, Dmitry Makhonin. His posts on Telegram regarding attacks by Ukrainian forces are invariably lacking in substance: “an airstrike occurred.” Commenting is disabled.
The men agree that the situation is “acute”, but in Tuapse it is even worse.
“It's nonsense here,” says one. – There is no comparison.
– And this is already in Odessa complete disaster – says the second one. They laugh. Then they smoke at the entrance to the bar.
There is no mobile internet, perhaps it is still blocked in the center – or the taxi app does not work with VPN. To order a ride, you need to connect to the bar's Wi-Fi. A taxi driver says that he cannot wash his car after the “oil rain”. He doesn't believe in the sunflower oil lifehack that people discuss in chat rooms.
He had an order from the airport in the morning. A taxi was ordered by a girl who was going on vacation.
— Her flight was delayed, but she didn't want to wait, she got scared. She decided not to fly and stay at home.
During the day on April 30, several more drones were shot down near Perm. Celebrations planned for May 1 in open spaces were canceled in the city. The fires continue.
