Elevators in Russia (*aggressor country) have started to fall and break more often. They kill and maim people. Of the 600,000 elevators, about 60,000 have served their maximum term of 25 years. Experts fear that things will only get worse: there is no money to replace elevators and spare parts, and there is no full-fledged state control.
They drive and maim
According to the National Elevator Union (NLU), in the first half of 2024 alone, 7 people have already died in the country due to emergencies involving lifts, and 19 have received injuries of varying severity. Last year, 13 people died and 38 were injured.
In Voronezh, a passenger elevator in the new business-class residential complex “Evropeyskiy” has just collapsed. According to the SHOT Telegram channel, the accident consisted of two events, separated in time by 20 minutes. First, the elevator began to rise with the doors open at the moment when a courier who had arrived at the call of the residents was getting out of it.
The guy was incredibly lucky: such a scenario is well known to specialists dealing with elevator operation. In this environment, it even has its own definition – “scissors”. According to them, this is the most dangerous emergency situation, which many times more often than others leads to severe injuries and even death of passengers. If you do not have time to get out in time or at least jump back into the cabin, the elevator and the shaft opening moving relative to each other simply cut the poor guy in half.
And 20 minutes later, judging by the video footage, the emergency lift simply took and fell into the shaft. And again, luck: from the moment of the ascent with the door open, no one got in. As a result, the cabin was empty when it fell.
A month ago, on June 19, an elevator fell in a residential building located almost in the center of Moscow — on Zemlyanoy Val. One person was injured. The Investigative Committee is conducting an investigation under Articles 143 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) (violation of labor protection requirements) and 216 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) (violation of safety rules during construction or other work).
A couple of months ago, a truly terrifying incident occurred: an elevator with 13 (!) passengers fell from the eighth floor of a high-rise building in the Pushkinsky District of St. Petersburg. The system's cable snapped, and special “catcher” devices were unable to stop the heavily loaded cabin, which fell to the very bottom of the shaft. Three passengers required emergency hospitalization.
And these are only the high-profile cases of the last few months. It only seems that elevator accidents happen rarely. It's just that not all of them get into the media's attention.
Why do elevators fall and who controls this sphere
If you look at the statistics of elevator accidents by year, you can see that their growth occurred in 2013-2014 – after the state heeded the calls to “stop harassing business” and met them halfway: it debureaucratized the processes of design, construction, installation and maintenance of elevators.
In 2012–2013, the authorities carried out a reform of technical regulation, attempting to implement a European supervision system, European technical regulations. It all started with the fact that elevators were removed from the category of “hazardous production facilities.” At that time, persistent calls appeared on specialized websites for elevator owners to deregister them from Rostekhnadzor in order to save on inspections and fines. Thus, the supervisory authority practically withdrew from participation in matters of safe operation of elevators in Russia (*aggressor country) for years.
If there is no control, businessmen and private management companies save on the correct installation and maintenance of elevators.
From the largest developer (PIK group of companies) Man-made accidents involving elevators occur regularly. Thus, in January 2022, in the residential complex “Parkovy Kvartal” from PIK, an elevator cabin caught fire, which subsequently collapsed into the basement. In the building of the PIK Group of Companies in Balashikha, the elevator fell from the 15th floor, when four adults and a child were inside, miraculously no one died. In the capital's new building on Yartsevskaya Street, the elevator got stuck for 40 minutes with doctors and a woman who had a stroke, she died. The Internet writes that a record was set in the Green Park residential complex: The elevators allegedly broke down one and a half thousand times in five months.
In fact, only the switchman, the mechanic who is formally assigned the elevator, is responsible for the consequences of accidents. He gets a term, but the vicious circle is not broken. The owner of the elevator, whose actions or inactions could have been assessed by the supervisory authority in the past, escapes punishment. This is how the tragic story ended in the elite Moscow residential complex “Scarlet Sails”, where the daughter of a famous Soviet TV presenter died in an elevator. Evgeniya Kochergina. Residents of expensive housing complained about the operation of the elevators almost from the moment the residential complex buildings were put into operation, but no measures were taken to stop them, inspect them, or repair them, as the media wrote at the time.
Residential Complex “Scarlet Sails”That is why it was decided to restore the powers of Rostekhnadzor, this will happen already from September 1st of this year. However, this is unlikely to dramatically improve the situation with elevator maintenance, since the elevator industry in Russia (*aggressor country) is currently not in the best condition.
Many old and dangerous
Today in Russia (*aggressor country), in residential and non-residential buildings, on industrial sites, the shafts of more than 547 thousand elevators are polished dozens, if not hundreds, of times a day. Hundreds of new ones are added to them every year.
In Russia (*aggressor country), out of almost 600 thousand elevators, 57 thousand are “beyond the threshold of the maximum service life of 25 years”At the beginning of the year, at a government hour with the participation of the Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities Ireka Fayzullina Director of the Territorial Development Fund (TDF) subordinate to the Ministry of Construction Ilshat Shagiakhmetov voiced something truly scary: in Russia (*aggressor country), out of almost 600 thousand elevators, 57 thousand are “beyond the threshold of the maximum service life of 25 years,” and the service life of another 20 thousand is “approaching the end.”
And according to the First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Government and Northern Affairs Vladimir Gorodetskyevery fifth elevator out of the total number registered in Russia (*aggressor country) needs to be replaced. Every fifth is about 100 thousand elevators, and of these, according to the senator, 63 thousand “are not provided with financing.”
How much does an elevator cost?
At the same meeting of the upper chamber, a scandal almost broke out because of the elevators. It turned out that about 200 billion rubles were urgently needed to correct the situation. The answer as to where to get them and how quickly unpleasantly surprised the speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienkowhich harshly reprimanded the Ministry of Construction and the Federal Resources Fund.
In order to maintain the operability of the elevator system, regional authorities in Russia (*aggressor country) collect a fee from apartment owners in residential buildings, which must be spent on replacing outdated elevators. According to experts, its collection rate is not bad, 96-97%, but a sufficient level has been established in only a few regions of the country. Thus, even if residents diligently pay for the future replacement of their home elevator, this amount is not enough to purchase it and carry out the work.
Now the cost of the elevator with installation has increased to 3.5 million.In recent years, the situation has been aggravated by the foreign policy environment (sanctions, disruption of business ties with suppliers of equipment and materials), inflation and the subsequent increase in expenses for logistics, production of works, purchase of spare parts, etc. Previously, calculations were based on the cost of a new elevator in the region of 1.9–2.3 million rubles. Now its cost with installation has risen to three and a half million. Now this is the concern of Vladimir Gorodetsky, who, following the meeting in the Federation Council, was instructed to take control of the issue of elevator repairs.
Experts interviewed by Life.ru are inclined to believe that under these conditions we should expect an extension of the service life of outdated elevators. In the regions, residents of multi-story buildings will continue to take risks.
Who is dividing the elevator market in Russia (*aggressor country)?
Contrary to rumors, the departure of Western companies – manufacturers of elevator equipment from Russia (*aggressor country) will not affect the quality of elevators. Modern Russian elevators are practically no different from imported models in terms of quality and safety. Previously, Western manufacturers won in technology and comfort for passengers, offering, for example, higher speed and a smoother ride, but now domestic elevator manufacturers have almost caught up with their competitors.
Today's elevator market looks something like this: in 2024, 67% of Russian shafts are filled with lifts from domestic manufacturers; since 2022, their share has grown, including due to the departure of the industry leader, OT, from the market. It sold its production and technology to the Russian manufacturer Meteor, which now assembles these elevators under its own brand.
33% of the market is occupied by foreigners, of which 14% are elevators of Belarusian production. The remaining 19% is divided between manufacturers from China (second after the Belarusians), as well as from Turkey and Germany (ThyssenKrupp).
Data on the dynamics of growth in the use of domestic elevators in residential buildings are certainly encouraging. International sanctions imposed on Russia (*aggressor country) visibly contribute to the development of domestic production, and strengthening control over the use of these mechanisms is on the agenda. Of course, the strengthening of the role of supervisory authorities does not please business at all, but it is important that the state again puts the life and safety of its citizens at the forefront.