As fire safety checks at St. Petersburg nightclubs and other entertainment businesses continue in the wake of the deadly Dec. 5 nightclub fire in Perm, Governor Valentina Matviyenko demanded that nightclubs where drugs are sold also be blacklisted.

“A black list of clubs where incidents of drug use and sale have been registered should be compiled,” Matviyenko was quoted by Interfax as saying on Thursday.

Meanwhile, by Monday 400 out of 15,000 inspected venues were temporarily closed by courts across Russia, Russia’s Chief Fire Inspector Gennady Kirillov said, Interfax reported. Kirillov said a decision to shut down a total of 2,700 venues had been taken.

To close a venue, a court decision is required by Russian law.

In St. Petersburg, the Ministry of Emergency Situations sued 26 venues over fire security violations, which were included in its Black List of Nightclubs, Discos and Restaurants posted on its web site, the ministry’s press officer said on Monday. According to the spokesperson, “three or four” venues have been temporarily closed by court decisions. She did not give the names of the venues.

One hundred and fifty people died as the result of the Perm nightclub fire, according to Interfax’s Monday update.

News source: The St. Petersburg Times
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