Arkhangelsk Explosion of 2004
Encyclopedia
On March 16, 2004, an explosion
destroyed a corner section of a nine-story Soviet
-era apartment building in Arkhangelsk, Russia. It happened at 3:25 a.m. local time (UTC +3). The explosion occurred in 120 Avenue of the Soviet Cosmonauts in the October district (Oktyabrskiy rayon) of Arkhangelsk.
The death toll from the explosion was 58 (33 women, 16 men and 9 children). At least 2 of the dead died in a hospital
after being rescued.
The explosion came two days after Vladimir Putin
won reelection
and several weeks after a suicide bombing killed 41 Moscow
subway
passengers.
In April 2004, authorities arrested and charged 26 year-old former employee of city gas services Serguey Alekseychik. On December 16, 2005 he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. According to the official version, Alekseychik was fired from his natural gas technician job several days prior to the explosion. To get even with his former employers and the city he sabotaged the gas system thus causing the tragedy. Some observers, however, refused to accept this explanation as too unrealistic.
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
destroyed a corner section of a nine-story Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-era apartment building in Arkhangelsk, Russia. It happened at 3:25 a.m. local time (UTC +3). The explosion occurred in 120 Avenue of the Soviet Cosmonauts in the October district (Oktyabrskiy rayon) of Arkhangelsk.
The death toll from the explosion was 58 (33 women, 16 men and 9 children). At least 2 of the dead died in a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
after being rescued.
The explosion came two days after Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
won reelection
Russian presidential election, 2004
Presidential elections were held in Russia on 14 March 2004. Incumbent Vladimir Putin was seeking a second full four-year term. He was re-elected with 71.31% of the vote.-Sergey Glazyev:...
and several weeks after a suicide bombing killed 41 Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
passengers.
In April 2004, authorities arrested and charged 26 year-old former employee of city gas services Serguey Alekseychik. On December 16, 2005 he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. According to the official version, Alekseychik was fired from his natural gas technician job several days prior to the explosion. To get even with his former employers and the city he sabotaged the gas system thus causing the tragedy. Some observers, however, refused to accept this explanation as too unrealistic.