Pyrotechnics of safety: the court will pass a verdict in the case of an explosion in the Moscow region

In the Moscow region, a verdict will be handed down in the case of an explosion at a pyrotechnics warehouse in Sergiev Posad. On August 9, 2023, it claimed the lives of nine people and led to large—scale destruction - private and apartment buildings and even the Trinity Sergius Lavra were damaged. Three former executives of the Pyro—Ross company, which produced and stored pyrotechnics, are in the dock. New details of the case and possible punishment for the accused can be found in the Izvestia article.

Who is charged in the explosion case

On November 13, the Sergiev Posad City Court is due to rule on the case of the explosion on the territory of the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant. The Pyro-Ross pyrotechnics production and warehouse were located there.

The explosion occurred at 10:40 a.m. on August 9, 2023. Nine people were killed and three seriously injured. A shock wave from the epicenter in a metal hangar with an area of 1600 square meters. Residential buildings and infrastructure were damaged, windows in residential buildings and administrative buildings were blown out.

In the company's warehouse, as reported in the case file, there were about 4 tons of gunpowder, they were in a room not intended for storing explosives. The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case on violations of industrial safety requirements.

According to the data of the explosive expertise (available to Izvestia), it is not possible to determine the cause of the explosion. It has only been established that it occurred due to the detonation of smokeless (artillery) gunpowder. Experts estimated the mass of the charge at 1 ton in TNT equivalent. There were two explosion epicenters at the scene — two craters.

"The explosions that formed the craters occurred simultaneously," the results of the examination say.

In May 2025, the Prosecutor General's Office filed charges of violating the industrial safety requirements of hazardous production facilities, resulting in the death of people. Sergei Chankaev, former Technical Director of Pyro-Ross, Alexander Varenov, General Director of Zalp LLC, and Oleg Yurov, his deputy for production, were in the dock.

At the time of the explosion, Pyro-Ross was in bankruptcy proceedings. And based on the court decision of March 31, 2023, Zalp LLC acted as the majority creditor and de facto economic successor of Pyro-Ross OJSC, controlling the course of its bankruptcy.

According to investigators, it was the negligence of the management of the enterprises that led to the tragedy. The prosecution has requested six years in prison for Sergei Chankaev. The prosecutor's office demanded five and a half years of imprisonment in a general regime colony with subsequent deprivation of the right to engage in activities at hazardous production facilities for Oleg Yurov and Alexander Varenov, a law enforcement source told Izvestia.

"The defendants were charged with ensuring control over compliance with industrial safety requirements and safe working conditions, as well as over the production process, proper storage conditions for explosives and gunpowder," the Prosecutor General's Office said on its website.

It notes that the defendants "ignored the systemic violations at the enterprise, which they were aware of due to their positions, and did not take measures to eliminate them."

The defendants in the case did not admit guilt. Andrey Gandzioshen, Oleg Yurov's lawyer, told Izvestia that his client's role in the company was limited to technical supervision and collecting information for the future project of Zalp LLC.

Card payment: Vrublevsky, founder of ChronoPay, was sentenced to 10 years

The punishment turned out to be milder than requested by the prosecutor.

Billion-dollar lawsuits and victims

The court arguments of the parties took place on November 5, 2025. As follows from the materials of the Sergiev Posad City Court, the verdict is scheduled for November 13, 2025. The meeting will be held in an open mode.

After the tragedy on August 9, 2023, 22 people and six legal entities filed lawsuits for compensation for moral and material damage. Among the plaintiffs are the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra and the Sergiev Posad City District of the Moscow Region, a source told Izvestia.

The total amount of the claims exceeded 1.9 billion rubles. The largest claim was filed by the Zagorsky Optical and Mechanical Plant - almost 1.6 billion rubles. Sergiev Posad city district of the Moscow region demanded 329.8 million rubles. The Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra estimated the damage at about 1.5 million rubles.

Among the largest lawsuits and claims are Promtekhosnashenie LLC (engaged in the supply of industrial equipment) for 60 million rubles, as well as TK Mirlight LLC, a clothing company with reflective elements, for 18.2 million rubles. In addition, LLC "Second floor" (engaged in the purchase and sale of real estate) requested 8.2 million rubles.

Among individuals, the amounts claimed ranged from 500,000 rubles to 10 million rubles per person. Lawsuits were also filed from small owners and residents with claims ranging from 15,000 to 100,000 rubles, mainly for damage to property and vehicles.

But the Izvestia source noted that the prosecutor's office estimated the damage to a number of legal entities at much lower amounts. Nevertheless, the injured party will be able to challenge the amount of the awarded payments if it considers the court's decision to be unjustified, said Vladimir Kabaev, head of the Kabaev and Partners law firm.

- It all depends on the availability of documentary evidence: inspection reports, expert opinions, receipts and photographs. Without them, the court will not be able to recognize the amount of compensation as justified," he said.

When the culprit goes bankrupt, damages and compensations will be paid at the expense of the bankruptcy estate of the enterprise or the persons controlling the enterprise, if the court establishes such a connection, Vladimir Kabaev explained.

Even before the Pyro-Ross explosion, the company had disputes with the Ministry of Defense about non—fulfillment of the terms of supply contracts. In October 2023, the court recovered about 4.9 million rubles in penalties from Pyro-Ross for late delivery under a military contract.

As Izvestia wrote, the Moscow Arbitration Court decided to recover from Pyro-Ross a penalty for the claim of the Ministry of Defense in the amount of 23.2 million rubles for delayed deliveries, three more lawsuits were under consideration — for 8 million, 3 million and 4 million rubles. The total amount of government contracts concluded between the company and the ministry from 2009 to 2021 is 41,282,750 rubles.

The limitation period: what is the threat to Ibragim Suleymanov in the murder case

The alleged perpetrator of the crime testified against the accused

In addition, Pyrotechnic Technologies LLC collected almost 18.5 million rubles from Pyro-Ross for non—fulfillment of the supply agreement in 2020, and Krasnogorsk shopping mall - 2 million 487 thousand rubles for non-payment under the lease agreement in 2019 and 2020.

In March 2023, Piro-Ross was declared bankrupt, the Federal Tax Service blocked its accounts, and a bankruptcy trustee was appointed to the company.

"If the defendant is in bankruptcy, it is possible to recover funds from the legal successor or through special compensation funds," explained Ekaterina Krasnova, a civil law lawyer. — In cases where joint and several liability is established, compensation can be distributed among the convicts.

She noted that such cases involving violations of industrial safety requirements are always difficult: the court has to establish not only the fact of negligence itself, but also a direct causal relationship between the actions of specific individuals and the tragic consequences. In such processes, expert opinions and job descriptions are of key importance — they allow us to determine who was really responsible for security at the facility.

The lawyers interviewed by Izvestia believe that the final verdict may coincide with the requirements of the prosecutor's office, especially given that the defendants did not admit guilt. The maximum penalty under the article on violation of industrial safety requirements, which resulted in the death of several people, is up to seven years in prison.