The court in Sterlitamak arrested the owner of the burned shopping center “Solnechny”

Sterlitamak City Court detained until November 22, 2026 the owner of the shopping center "Solnechny" in the center of Sterlitamak Sergey Rodionov, reports TASS correspondent. Four people were killed in the fire at the complex.

Investigators arrested the businessman yesterday. Today, he was charged with providing services that do not meet safety requirements and caused the death of two or more persons by negligence (Part 3 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the investigation, the owner did not ensure proper compliance with fire safety standards and requirements. Sergei Rodionov pleaded not guilty. He claims that the fire safety system in the “Sunny” worked normally.

The fire in the shopping center occurred on the afternoon of September 22. The fire spread to 2.1 thousand square meters. Four people were killed and five were injured. The interlocutor of TASS reported that the dead “were cut off by fire and smoke from the exits inside the building.” According to witnesses, several people jumped out of the windows to escape. “RIA Novosti” with reference to the source reported that the cause of the fire was a short circuit.