Russia’s elite has been condemned for routinely flouting the highway code with the help of special number plates and police-style sirens after a car crash involving a top oil executive left two women dead.
The accident happened when a chauffeur-driven Mercedes carrying Anatoly Barkov, a top Lukoil executive, collided head-on with a small Citroen carrying two female obstetricians.
The two women, Olga Alexandrina, 36, and Vera Sidelnikova, 72, died, while Mr Barkov and his driver escaped with minor injuries.
Cyclists routinely ride over zebra crossings, study findsPolice were initially quick to blame Mrs Alexandrina, who was driving, for the accident in Moscow, saying she appeared to have strayed into the oncoming lane. A Lukoil spokesman said the company would not pay compensation to the dead women’s families. Mrs Alexandrina is survived by a baby daughter and a disabled husband.
That version of events, which was backed by Lukoil, has since been called into question, however, after eye witnesses phoned local radio stations to claim that they had seen the Mercedes switching lanes apparently to avoid one of Moscow’s notorious traffic jams.
The dead woman’s relatives have penned an open letter, calling the official version of events “false and unproven,” and alleging that the Lukoil car caused the crash. They appear to have won serious public support.
The accident, which happened last Thursday, has channelled public anger and comes just days after another fatal accident involving the daughter of a powerful official triggered a similar backlash.
A prominent rapper has already released a protest song and video about the latest incident, while discussion of the crash is one of the most talked about topics on the Russian-language Internet.
Angry motorists have even pledged to boycott petrol stations owned by Lukoil, Russia’s largest oil company, in disgust.
Many ordinary people say they are sick of the police allowing wealthy Russians whose cars sport special number plates and sirens to break speed limits and drive in lanes reserved for emergency vehicles.
“The guilty must be punished regardless of their wealth or social status,” wrote the dead women’s relatives.
Police have yet to publicise their final conclusions.
Source [Telegraph]
