Putin Publicly Calls for Dismissal of Mine Boss After Deadly Blasts

With Igor Volkov seated among other executives at a conference table in Siberia, Mr. Putin berated them from Moscow, more than 2,000 miles away. He voiced disbelief that Mr. Volkov was still running OAO Raspadskaya's main mine, despite hundreds of alleged breaches of safety rules at the mine over the past year.
"Mr. Volkov is still working, still sitting in this room," Mr. Putin said.
The Russian leader's call for tighter regulation of coal mines appeared to be part of an effort to limit political unrest over the Raspadskaya mine disaster. He spoke after dozens of miners and their families blocked a railway line near the mine and threw rocks and bottles at riot police, a kind of forceful protest relatively rare in Russia these days.
Twenty-eight people were arrested in the disorders late Friday and early Saturday, prompting calls by mine-union leaders and other groups for wider protests against low wages and poor safety conditions in mines. "It's the fault of the authorities," independent miners' union leader Ivan Mokhnachuk told Echo of Moscow radio. "They pushed people onto the rails."
The jailed demonstrators were freed Monday but face charges of blocking the railway and assaulting the police.
Authorities have yet to hold anyone criminally responsible for the methane gas explosions May 8. At least 66 people were killed, and search operations were suspended on Thursday because of high methane gas levels in the tunnels, all but eliminating hope of saving the 24 people still missing.
Mr. Putin's videoconference addressed the country's top mining executives and officials investigating the blasts. He said the government safety regulator, Rostekhnadzor, had appealed to the judiciary four times to have Mr. Volkov dismissed as head of the mining company because of repeated violations.
Mr. Volkov didn't respond to Mr. Putin during the conference. A company spokeswoman said he would remain in his post, adding that the company had complied with the regulator's safety recommendations.
The prime minister said the government may give the regulator power to suspend senior managers and shut mines when it finds evidence of violations. He said pay increases for miners would dissuade them from risking their lives to earn more. And he called for trade union representatives to be present when gas levels are measured.
Noting that Russian mine death tolls remain high despite a more-than-ninefold rise in safety spending since 1998, he asked: "Where is this money going? Which people and whose work is it protecting?"

"The Wall Street Journal"