Russian Emergency Situations Minister Yevgeny Zenichev, a former personal security officer for President Vladimir Putin, died while attempting to save a person during a training exercise, the ministry announced on Wednesday. The 55-year-old minister "tragically died during interdepartmental training in Norilsk for the protection of the Arctic region while trying to save a life," the ministry told the TASS agency.
The Head of RT television channel, Margarita Simonyan, posted on her Telegram channel that Zenichev "was on the edge of a cliff with a video cameraman who slipped and fell into the sea." She added, "No one had time to realize what happened when Zenichev rushed towards the ocean after the man fell and crashed against the rocks," noting that the cameraman also perished.
The channel later clarified on Telegram that its team did not witness the incident but was part of a group of journalists covering the ongoing exercises and had followed the minister earlier. Deputy Minister Andrei Gurovich noted that the minister "did not hesitate for a moment to act, not as a minister, but as an ordinary man, as a rescuer who performed a heroic act."
Russian agencies reported from the Ministry of Emergency Situations that the second victim was Alexander Melnik, a 63-year-old Russian screenwriter and director. The Kremlin stated, "President Putin expressed his heartfelt condolences" to Yevgeny Zenichev's family following his "tragic death," adding that the president and Zenichev "shared several years of joint work."
Zenichev, who held his position since 2018, spent most of his career in various Russian security agencies, particularly responsible for protecting President Vladimir Putin, according to a biography published by Russian agencies. He served in the Soviet intelligence service (KGB) during the last years of the Soviet Union and then joined the protection agency in 1991. Since 2006, the stern-looking man was involved in the security service for Presidents Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.
Since 2014, he served as Deputy Head of the Counter-Terrorism Department in the Russian Federal Security Service. Zenichev held the position of Deputy Director of the Federal Security Service until he was appointed head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in 2018. The ministry, which employs around 120,000 staff, responds to natural disasters and environmental incidents, such as the unprecedented floods and fires that hit Russia this summer.
A statement from the ministry issued late Tuesday to Wednesday, before the minister's death, indicated that Zenichev was in Norilsk for large-scale training involving 6,000 personnel in the Arctic. The statement mentioned, "He personally supervised the training of these units in emergency response," accompanied by images showing Zenichev meeting with teams on-site while inspecting a new firefighting center.
On September 8, during a joint exercise among Russian agencies to protect the Arctic region from emergencies in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Minister of Emergency Situations Yevgeny Zenichev tragically died. According to eyewitnesses and journalists participating in the training, the minister and the camera crew were standing at the edge of the cliff. At one point, the worker Alexander Melnik slipped and fell. Without hesitation, Zenichev rushed to save him. Margarita Simonyan wrote in her telegram: "No one had time to understand what happened when Zenichev threw himself into the water after a man fell and crashed against a protruding stone. He died as a rescuer."
The two victims were promptly transported by helicopter to a hospital in Norilsk. However, they died en route. The incident has already been reported to the President of Russia. According to the press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov, this is a significant loss for Vladimir Putin, as they were closely associated with Zenichev for many years of joint work. The president has already sent a condolence telegram to the relatives of the deceased.
Yevgeny Zenichev was 55 years old. He worked in state security agencies since 1987. In the summer of 2016, he was appointed acting governor of the Kaliningrad region, and from October of the same year, he became Deputy Director of the FSB. Zenichev headed the Ministry of Emergency Situations for only three years - he was appointed Minister of Civil Defense, Emergencies, and the Elimination of Natural Disaster Consequences by presidential decree on May 18, 2018. During his tenure, he received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th class, the Order of Service to the Fatherland, 2nd class, and the Suvorov Medal. A year prior, Zenichev was awarded the rank of Army General.
