The Nevsky District Court of St. Petersburg fined the management of the Ice Palace for 480 thousand rubles in connection with the revealed violations of the sanitary regime during the concert of rapper Basta (Vasily Vakulenko). At the same time, they did not close the institution.
"Nevsky District Court brought OJSC" Sports Palace "to administrative responsibility and imposed a fine of 480 thousand rubles", - said in the message of the court.
Basta's concerts were held at the Ice Palace on November 27 and 28. According to the authorities, the event was attended by a total of 12.5 thousand people. Later, a video from one of the concerts appeared on social networks, after which a scandal erupted in the media - journalists (as well as users) noted that many people stood nearby, without observing social distance, there were no chairs in the hall, some of the spectators were missing masks.
The organizers of the concerts reported that all norms were observed, the temperature was measured at the entrance to the audience, and the masks were asked not to take off. In addition, they stated that the video was "not clear" about what was happening at the concert.
Soon Basta himself made a statement. According to him, "all the requirements for compliance with safety rules listed in the governor's decree have been met." The city committee of St. Petersburg for culture took his side, which also did not reveal any violations.
On November 30, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, instructed to check whether sanitary and epidemiological measures were violated at Basta's concerts. In addition, on December 1, this was discussed at a meeting of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
As a result, Rospotrebnadzor admitted that the events were held in violation of the rules introduced due to the spread of COVID-19. Popova called such actions by the organizers of Basta's concert unacceptable. After Basta's concerts, the Ice Palace canceled the events until the end of February.
