Up in smoke

As widely reported, a fire in a shopping centre in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russian has killed 14 people, with more bodies likely to be found.

Photo: BBC

Reuters say that the cause could be arson, but, according to the President of Tatarstan, that the managers hadn't complied with safety regulations. This reminds me of a couple of things from my time in Russia.

Documentary review: Storyville. Russia's Toughest Prison: The Condemned

This is Russia's prison for its most dangerous men; 260 inmates convicted of 800 murders collectively. The documentary, shown as a part of the BBC4 Storyville series, was as interesting as it was depressing. It focused on half a dozen prisoners, the governor and, briefly, a handful of family members and takes us through how they came to be in prison, their guilt, prison hierarchy, family and their future, giving an insight into thoughts and lives, or rather existences, of some of its prisoners and, to a lesser extent, of others involved. Welcome to a world of thin faces, sunken eyes and missing teeth in mouths offering few smiles. a place where hope and hopelessness vie for supremacy in the minds of people who have much to fear on both sides of the walls.

All along the watchtower