Fire sweeps Sberbank's offices in Vladivostok, 16 January (ITAR-TASS)
PRAGUE, 22 January 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Police have arrested a local bank manager in connection with a fire that left nine people dead in the city of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East.
RFE/RL's Russian Service reports that the city's prosecutor general believes Lyudmila Feofanova failed to put in place proper fire safety and protection measures in the offices of her branch of Sberbank, Russia's largest bank.
The fire, which took place on 16 January, prompted a protest rally on 21 January. The 300 or so protesters demanded the resignations of Mayor Vladimir Nikolayev and of the regional governor, Sergei Darkin. Others faulted firefighters for failing to evacuate the bank's employees in time.
(with Interfax)