The Russian Minister of Emergency Affairs died in a training exercise in the Arctic city of Norilsk. Officials said he jumped from a cliff apparently to rescue him.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed in a statement that Yevgeny Zinichev has been an influential Security Council member and Minister of Emergency Situations since 2018. …Save a person’s life in the Arctic.”
Zinichev, a former bodyguard and personal assistant to Vladimir Putin, worked in Federal Security Service (FSB) and was briefly appointed as the governor of the Kaliningrad region before being nominated as the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The exact circumstances of his death are unclear. The head of the Russian television network RT stated that Zinichev died while trying to save the life of a photographer who fell off a cliff during work.
Margarita Simonyan, head of RT, wrote: “[Zinichev] A photographer is standing near the edge of a ledge. The photographer slipped and fell into the water. There were many onlookers—no one had time to figure out what happened after Zinicchev fell into the water and hit the protruding rock. “
According to reports, the photographer has also died. The Ministry of Emergency Situations has identified him as the famous Russian film director Alexander Melnik. He produced the 2015 TV series “Territory”, which tells the story of the discovery of a remote gold mine in the northernmost part of the Soviet Union. According to official media reports, he often cooperates with the ministry.
According to the Russian news media RBC, the accident happened when the team was shooting a video Said to be told From one source.
Zinichev is a former KGB official and has been close to Putin since the mid-2000s. The former president’s bodyguard had no political career before being promoted to regional governor by Putin in 2016.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax news agency: “President Putin expresses his deep condolences to the tragic death of Yevgeny Zinichev.” “They have shared many years of joint work. It’s a huge loss. The president has sent a telegram to express his condolences to the minister’s family and friends.”
Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and current Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also expressed their condolences.
According to a press release issued earlier on Wednesday, Zinichev has been checking the construction of the new fire department in Norilsk region. It is said that shortly after reports of his death were confirmed, the exercise ended on Wednesday.
