On January 15, 2026, a fire and explosion occurred at an Interior Ministry professional training center in Syktyvkar. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, paint and varnish materials intended for renovation had been stored in the assembly hall where the exercise was taking place. Local channel Novaya Respublika reported that those materials caught fire after a stun grenade was used.
A source close to the local police told the outlet that the drill involved dispersing unrest with a flash-bang grenade. Young police trainees took part, most of them around 20 years old. The exercise had initially been planned for outdoors, but, according to the source, center head Anton Dashevsky ordered everyone into the hall.
The source said the exercise lasted about a minute and a half before the grenade blast triggered a fire. At the same time, BAZA reported that the grenade was activated by instructor Vladimir Oparin. Footage published by BAZA appears to show that the blaze was initially small and that people tried to extinguish it, but the trainees were not evacuated. The fire then intensified and an explosion followed when the renovation materials detonated.
“One young man is in a deep coma, with 80% burns, no skin left on his head, kidney failure, brain dead. One woman is in a fourth-degree coma, was declared dead three times but her heart was restarted. Another person with 70% burns is also in a coma,” the source said.
According to the same source, one victim, a 19-year-old woman who had recently joined the police, died. Several injured officers in moderate and serious condition were sent to Moscow for treatment. Families of those killed are expected to receive state payments of 3 to 5 million rubles, the source said.
The Komi Health Ministry said that 23 people were injured in total. The source added that panic spread within the regional Interior Ministry after the tragedy and that a team of investigators flew in from Moscow overnight. Oparin was placed under house arrest in a case involving abuse of office with grave consequences. Dashevsky was suspended and later detained. The Interior Ministry in the Komi Republic said it is conducting an internal review.