Winter Palace, 1837
On December 17 (29), 1837 at about 19 o'clock in the evening smoke began to penetrate into the duty room of the Winter Palace. However, its smell was already felt two days before the fire. A fire occurred in one of the chimneys, clogged with soot. An investigation conducted later under the direction of Alexander Benkendorf showed that the reconstruction of the palace premises contributed to the fire. The plan was checked and signed personally by Nicholas I.
During the fire, the imperial family was in the theater, at the ballet. They learned about the fire after the first action. Nicholas I sent the children to a safe place and sent for troops. An urgent evacuation of the Hermitage’s valuables and the personal belongings of the emperor’s family began. In order to stop the flames, which were moving because of the wind to the Hermitage, Nicholas I ordered to dismantle the roof of the building. Soldiers with axes broke out roofing sheets.
The fire, which lasted another 2 days, completely destroyed the second and third floors of the Winter Palace, numerous valuable manuscripts and documents, works of art. Restored the palace after the tragedy of more than two years.
Hotel "Russia", 1977
On the evening of February 25, 1977, the Moscow Rescue Service received more than 50 fire reports. On the 13th floor of the hotel "Russia" there was a fire that flowed into a large fire. The fire spread instantly to the floors, blocking the exits and destroying the hope of saving the guests and hotel workers.
At the time of extinguishing the fire in the concert hall of the hotel, Arkady Raikin performed. In the middle of the concert, the artist was called to the phone and asked to extend the event, because the audience was not in danger, and it was difficult to evacuate them.
To extinguish the fire came all the brigades of Moscow and the Moscow region. During the fire at the hotel "Russia" killed 42 people.
Railway near Ufa, 1989
On June 4, 1989, during the oncoming traffic of two passenger trains at the 1710th kilometer of the Trans-Siberian Railway, a powerful explosion occurred. The cause was an accident on the pipeline. As a result of the strongest explosion, a fire broke out, a fire engulfed the trains. A pillar of flame was seen hundreds of kilometers from the scene.
The fire killed 645 people, among them there were 200 children.
Hotel "Leningrad", 1991
Early on the morning of February 23, 1991, the 10th floor of the Leningrad Hotel caught fire. Employees tried to extinguish the fire on their own, but the flame spread with great speed, falling into the mines and stairways. The guests of the rooms on the upper floors were blocked.
Fire escape ladders did not reach the upper floors of the hotel. People had to go down the sheets hung from the windows. This is how Marina Vlady escaped from the building in flames. 12 people died in the walls of “Leningrad”, among them - the editor of the magazine “Ogonek” Mark Grigoriev.
Ostankino Tower, 2000
On August 27, 2000, at 15:30, the broadcasting of television channels operating from the Ostankino television tower was cut off. At that moment, a fire ignited at an altitude of 460 meters, as a result of which 3 floors completely burned down. Because of the high temperature during a fire, the cables controlling the balance of the tower burst. The fire claimed the lives of three people.