A theater in Russia’s fourth-largest city has been fined for its lack of provisions in case of nuclear war.
The Cold War-era practice of training civilians on procedures to take in the event of a nuclear attack has grown more commonplace in recent years amid strained relations between Russia and the West. The Emergency Situations Ministry inspection of Kolyada Theater took place in July and uncovered 18 violations, according to the Kommersant business daily.
A court in Yekaterinburg fined actor and director Nikolai Kolyada’s theater 50,000 rubles ($780) Monday for “failing to take measures to protect the population” from “dangers arising from acts of war.”
“What’s the fine for? For being included in the list of companies that will continue to work, like factories and other enterprises, in case of war or an atomic explosion,” Kolyada wrote on Facebook. “We didn’t even know.”
“We didn’t have gas masks, canned meat and other things when the inspection came,” he said.
The theater was cited by the Emergency Situations Ministry for not organizing civil defense training courses and lacking rescue groups and emergency committees, Kommersant reported. It was reportedly given until July 1, 2020, to address the violations.
Kolyada’s theater is located in a former building of the NKVD, the predecessor of the Soviet-era KGB.
Reuters contributed reporting to this article.