Deadly Blaze Ripped Through Russia’s Top Air Defense Research Lab in Tver near Moscow

A major fire broke out today in a secretive Russian military research center, killing several people, injuring others, and leaving significant damage in its wake. The facility in Tver, 120 miles northwest of Moscow, is responsible for diverse research focused on air defense, but reportedly crosses over between the fields of both space and the military. Most notably, it reportedly studies stealth technologies — and, above all, counters to use against them.

Local media reports on the fire at the Central Scientific Research Institute of the Aerospace Defense Troops, or TSNII VVKO, in the center of Tver, do not provide a final death toll, with the local Tvernews sources stating that at least one individual lost their lives and that at least 16 others were injured. Meanwhile, Interfax reports two deaths and 20 injured. For its part, the Moscow Times is reporting six fatalities in the blaze.

The fire broke out this morning on the third floor of the site’s main building before spreading quickly, according to Tvernews. The same source described fire crews from several different stations responding. Despite their efforts, some reports now say the building was destroyed.

...Answering directly to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Central Scientific Research Institute’s work is mainly theoretical and includes the development of air and space defense systems. The institute carries out research into navigation, command and control, and other systems, as well as studies into stealth aircraft.

...While the cause of the fire today at the TSNII VVKO, and the extent of the final damage remain unclear, it seems almost certain that the blaze will have struck a significant blow to this highly specialized Russian research program, especially if some of those killed were experts in their field.

Side-interest: I googled & found this info:

1- https://www.quora.com/What-if-Hogan-s-Heroes-had-been-set-in-real-Nazi-Germany?
ALLEN JONES, Lifelong student of American history.
Answered 2 years ago · Author has 10.5K answers and 10.4M answer views

“My next door neighbor when “Hogan’s Heroes” was on prime time, new episodes had spent 1942–1945 in an actual German Air Force POW camp as a bombardier shot down over Holland in an early bombing run. He watched one episode and forbade his sons from watching it as he was deeply offended by the show’s conventions. He felt it made fun of his experiences and the suffering of the POW’s there. The Air Force POW camps for Allied Air Force Officers were the best run and most comfortable of all of the German POW camps with those for Russian soldiers the worst (deliberate starving, mass executions, hypothermia, typhus, no medical care, etc.).

There are a number of memoirs and later non-fiction studies of the German POW camps, “Escape from Colditz” is particularly interesting, and oddly the American and British air officers’ accounts are the most common. The Air Forces on all sides had the most comfortable quarters at their own bases, better food, access to local towns and pubs, and most critically they had respite from the war after returning to base unlike forward-deployed infantry and navy men. So their complaints about the camps reflect what they were used to while the RUSSIAN TROOPS had grossly inadequate logistical support and housing in their own bases and the extremely miserable prisoner-of-war conditions seem to have been endured with far higher death rates among the RUSSIAN common soldiers before and after captivity.

In “Hogans Heroes” there’s a substantial underground complex and tunnels that were built at some camps, even the civilian wardrobe making and false documents department, but in the sitcom those are never discovered while in the real camps they were discovered after a few months or a year. Sgt. Kinchloe, the black American radio operator is odd since black soldiers then were kept to non-combat roles as truck drivers and logistics guys so his capture would have been most likely during the chaos of the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944 or a year or more before the series is set, and a radio operator would be rare indeed. Newkirk and LeBeau act like infantrymen but would have had to have been aircraft crew, probably pilots, navigators, or bombardiers to be at this camp. There would have been at least another dozen or more prisoners deeply involved in the POW’s operations based on the labor demands and skillsets of the actual POW operations. I agree with other comments that Col. Hogan’s disrespectful behavior might have gotten him shot or transferred (more likely transferred, the German Air Force didn’t shoot annoying people nearly as much as the SS did) or he would have been doing even more black market services and bribes for the camp command staff and guards, probably distilled alcohol as that was very common at the POW camps.

Jim Bemis, Air Force retiree; OEF veteran

“My father was a WWII-era veteran, and the show seemed to offend him some, although he mostly found it ridiculous. He declared that Germans were tough, smart opponents, and I think he felt that, by denigrating them, it took something away from glory of the allies’ eventual victory.

I loved show as a kid (which annoyed my father, thus reinforcing my opinion of it at the time), but, as a veteran myself now, I certainly understand his view, as well as the other views already expressed in the other answers to this question.

On the other hand, as hinted at by one of the answers, I gained a bit of respect for the cast and show when I got older and knew more about their backgrounds. Bob Crane was a national guard veteran; Richard Dawson served in the British merchant marine. Warner Klemperer (son of a famous conductor) and John Banner were Jews whose whose families fled the Nazis. Robert Clary is a French Jew who actually survived the Holocaust, despite being sent to Buchenwald. This made me feel they were using the show to purge themselves of some of their demons about the era, something many veterans can understand.”

2- https://screenrant.com/hogans-heroes-hidden-details-you-never-noticed/

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