Russian Navy Captain Freezes to Death in His Own Home

A Russian navy captain froze to death in his own home after his electricity supply was cut off, his family has told Russian media.

Sixty-year-old Vladislav Shevashkevich was found dead at his home in the Vyborg district of St. Petersburg on the border with Finland, on Jan. 3.

His brother-in-law, Oleg, told 78.ru that power outages began in the area on Dec. 29. The power company had said it was due to snow hanging on power wires but local residents report there was no snowfall in the area for several days.

Oleg invited Shevashkevich to his own fireplace-equipped home for New Year’s Eve but he refused, saying he hoped the electricity would be restored soon.

He was last heard from on New Year’s Day.

Blaming the power company for the death, Oleg said it knew there would be outages in the region but postponed repairs.

An investigation into the cause of the death is underway.

Russia is currently experiencing wider problems domestic energy delivery, particularly near Moscow.

In recent weeks, local Russian telegram channels have been publishing photos and videos of Russians making bonfires in their yards, and radiators in their homes have burst from the cold.

And three people were arrested earlier this week and an ammunition factory is to be nationalized after a mechanical failure there left 22,000 people without heating in a Moscow suburb.

The director of the Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant, the head of its boiler room and the deputy head of the Podolsk city administration were all detained on Tuesday, Russian investigators said.

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The announcement came as it was also revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the nationalization of the factory after a burst pipe there took out heating in homes in the area last week as temperatures plummeted below zero.

Residents in the town of Podolsk, located approximately 37 km south of Moscow, had taken to the town’s central square to demand action from authorities.

A preliminary investigation cited “improper operation of the boiler room” as the cause of the burst pipe and resulting outage.