Ex-management of Perm University read a horror movie

The Main Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (TFR) has completed investigative actions in a criminal case initiated against the leaders of the Perm State National Research University (PGNIU) after a massacre on the territory of the university. In April last year, Rector Dmitry Krasilnikov and Vice-Rector Pavel Blus, as well as the head of one of the departments of the university, Mikhail Mukhachev, and an employee of the Russian Guard, Natalya Golovanova, became its defendants. Initially, university employees were charged with providing services that did not meet safety requirements, resulting in the death of two or more people. Now the interlocutors of Kommersant-Prikamye claim that as a result, the former officials were allegedly accused of abuse of power, which entailed grave consequences. The sources did not specify the final list of accused.

The investigating authorities have begun the procedure for familiarizing the accused with the materials of the criminal case against former officials of the Perm State National Research University. The case was initiated in the main investigative department of the TFR in May last year under Part 3 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (providing services that do not meet safety requirements, resulting in the death of two or more persons). His defendants were the then rector of the university Dmitry Krasilnikov, vice-rector Pavel Blus, head of the control department of the university Mikhail Mukhachev and officer of the National Guard Natalya Golovanova.

The case was opened seven months after the mass murder committed by Timur Bekmansurov, then a first-year student at the Faculty of Law of Perm State National Research University. On September 20, 2021, Timur Bekmansurov, armed with a semi-automatic rifle, opened fire on campus. As a result, six people died, 59 received gunshot wounds and injuries of varying severity. Timur Bekmansurov was wounded and neutralized by the traffic police inspector Konstantin Kalinin who came to the rescue. At the end of December last year, Timur Bekmansurov was sentenced to life imprisonment. He pleaded guilty, but is trying to appeal the verdict because he considers it too harsh.

The investigation of the case against the leaders of the university initially concerned the performance of the warning and evacuation management system (SOUE) on the campus of Perm State National Research University. The purpose of the system, which includes audible and visual alarms, is to inform people on campus of a planned or ongoing attack.

The presence and operability of the system was a necessary condition for the university to pass the so-called categorization procedure according to the level of terrorist protection. In fact, as stated in the case file, the system was inoperative.

At various times, the defendants in the case were members of the grading committee, which inspected the campus before each academic year. Together with representatives of the National Guard, they signed the survey report and did not reflect in it information about problems with the SOUE.

Dmitry Krasilnikov worked as the rector of the university until the end of January this year, after which he left this position for health reasons. Following him, Pavel Blus and some of the members of the management team of Dmitry Krasilnikov left the university. In the spring of this year, it became known that Pavel Blus works as deputy director of the Perm branch of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

Several sources claim that as a result, the accusation against the ex-employees of the university was brought in a new version. Allegedly, they are now charged with Part 3 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of official powers that entailed grave consequences). They could not specify the final circle of persons involved in the case as defendants. According to Kommersant’s interlocutors, the defendants began to get acquainted with the materials of the case, which has more than a hundred volumes. Dmitry Krasilnikov himself left questions about the criminal case without comment.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, after the completion of the procedure for familiarizing the accused with the case materials and drawing up an indictment, they are sent to the prosecutor’s office. Based on the results of the inspection, the supervisory authority may send the case to court or return it for additional investigation.
Experts note that bringing to responsibility under Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation involves proving that the person involved has a mercenary or other personal interest. According to Sergei Kolosovsky, head of the Logard Lawyers’ Group (Yekaterinburg), this interest is not necessarily financial in nature. “Quite often in cases under this article it is indicated that the accused wanted to create or maintain the image of a successful leader,” says Mr. Kolosovsky. “But such a conclusion also needs to be proven.”