MOSCOW (Reuters) - Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Russia’s Kemerovo region that suffered a fire last month that killed more than 60 people at a shopping mall, said on Sunday he was resigning from his post.

In a video address posted on the regional administration’s website, Tuleyev said his resignation was “the right, conscious and only true decision” following of the deadly incident. </s> Veteran Russian politician Aman Tuleyev has been elected as speaker of the Kemerovo regional legislature in Siberia, eight days after he resigned as governor following a shopping-mall fire that killed 64 people.

Tuleyev was elected speaker on April 10 by vote of 38-1 in the legislature, which like others across Russia is dominated by the Kremlin-controlled United Russia party.

Tuleyev, 73, had been governor of the coal-mining region in Siberia since 1997.

He resigned on April 1, saying it was "morally impossible" to stay on after the March 25 fire at the Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) mall in the regional capital -- one of the deadliest blazes in post-Soviet Russia.

Tuleyev had faced public calls to step down, including by people in a crowd of thousands who demonstrated outside his administration's office two days after the fire.

He and his subordinates were criticized over what many have seen as a callous response to the tragedy, including their characterizations of public outrage as the work of political opportunists.

Tuleyev received a parliamentary seat on April 3, two days after he resigned as governor.

His election as speaker came after the previous speaker resigned from the post and said Tuleyev deserved to replace him.

Residents, relatives of victims, and Russians nationwide blamed corruption and government negligence for the high casualty toll in blaze, whose victims included 41 children -- some of whom died after being trapped in a locked movie theater at the mall.

Investigators said initial investigations indicated that blocked fire exits, a shutdown alarm system, and "glaring violations" of safety rules exacerbated the human toll of the fire.

Seven people have been arrested in the case, including the head of the local building-inspection agency and an executive with the firm that owns the shopping mall.

With reporting by Tayga.info </s> A week after he resigned as Kemerovo governor, citing an unbearable "moral" burden following a shopping-mall fire that killed 64 people, veteran Russian politician Aman Tuleyev is expected to be elected as speaker of the regional legislature.

The chairman of the Kemerovo regional council of deputies, Aleksei Sinitsyn, stepped down on April 9 and said that Tuleyev deserved to replace him.

Sinitsyn said that the lawmakers in the council were "Tuleyev's team" and added, "I think it is absolutely fair that the team leader runs it."

The council's press service said that the new speaker will be elected on April 10.

Tuleyev received a parliamentary seat on April 3, two days after he resigned as governor.

Tuleyev, who is 73 and had been governor of the coal-mining region in Siberia since 1997, had faced calls to resign in the wake of the March 25 fire at the Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) mall.

He and his subordinates were criticized over what many have seen as a callous response to the tragedy, including their characterizations of public outrage as the work of political opportunists.

Residents, relatives of victims, and Russians nationwide blamed corruption and government negligence for the high casualty toll in blaze, whose victims included 41 children -- some of whom died after being trapped in a locked movie theater at the mall.

Investigators said initial investigations indicated that blocked fire exits, a shutdown alarm system, and "glaring violations" of safety rules exacerbated the human toll of the fire.

Seven people have been arrested in the case, including the head of the local building-inspection agency and an executive with the firm that owns the shopping mall.

With reporting by TASS and RIA Novosti </s> Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Russia's Kemerovo region that suffered a fire last month that killed more than 60 people at a shopping mall, said on Sunday he was resigning from his post.

MOSCOW: Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Russia's Kemerovo region that suffered a fire last month that killed more than 60 people at a shopping mall, said on Sunday he was resigning from his post.

In a video address posted on the regional administration's website, Tuleyev said his resignation was "the right, conscious and only true decision" following of the deadly incident. </s> Governor of the Kemerovo Region Aman Tuleyev speaks during a meeting in Kemerovo, Russia March 7, 2018. — Reuters picMOSCOW, April 1 — The governor of Russia’s Kemerovo region resigned today over a mall fire that killed more than 60 after a litany of violations in safety procedures left shoppers and children trapped inside the building.

Aman Tuleyev, 73, said in a video posted on the regional administration’s website that stepping down was the only course of action possible. President Vladimir Putin accepted his resignation, the Kremlin said.

“With such a heavy burden, it’s impossible to work as the governor,” Tuleyev said. “It’s morally impossible.”

Last Sunday’s fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through a cinema complex and children’s play area on the upper floors of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the regional capital.

Investigators said last week that fire exits had been illegally blocked, the public address system was not switched on, the alarm system was broken, and children had been locked inside cinemas.

Putin said the incident had been caused by criminal negligence and that those responsible would be punished.

Today he appointed Sergei Tsivilyov, one of the region’s deputy governors, to replace Tuleyev as acting governor.

On Friday, police arrested an executive with the firm that owns the shopping mall.

The calamitous way the emergency was handled stirred public anger in Kemerovo and focused attention on corruption and lax fire safety standards. Rallies commemorating the victims were held across the country, including in Moscow and St Petersburg. — Reuters </s> Aman Tuleyev, 73, resigned one week after the March 25 Winter Cherry mall fire that killed more than 60 people trapped inside the building. “With such a heavy burden, it’s impossible to work as governor,” Tuleyev said before leaving his post, which he had held for over two decades.

The embattled governor of Russia's Siberian region of Kemerovo, who stepped down last week after a deadly shopping mall fire, has now been voted in as a speaker of the region’s parliament.

The Kemerovo regional council, dominated by the ruling United Russia party, voted 38-1 to appoint Tuleyev as its speaker on Tuesday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"My conscience is clear before God, and that's the most important thing," the new speaker told the deputies.

The previous speaker, Aleksei Sinitsyn, stepped down from the post on Monday to make way for Tuleyev.

“I think it is absolutely fair and proper for the team to be led by its leader,” Sinitsyn said, referring to the region’s ex-governor.

At least one United Russia member in the State Duma, Sergei Neverov, opposed the move.

“I think the people will simply not understand this decision,” he told Interfax. </s> The governor of Russia's Kemerovo region resigned on Sunday over a mall fire that killed more than 60 people after a litany of violations in safety procedures left shoppers and children trapped inside the building.

Aman Tuleyev said in a video posted on the regional administration's website that resigning was the only course of action possible.

"With such a heavy burden, it's impossible to work as the governor," he said. "It's morally impossible."

Last Sunday's fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through a cinema complex and children's play area on the upper floors of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the regional capital. </s> Aman Tuleyev has been heading the Kemerovo Region since 1997. His current mandate was due to expire in 2020. Tuleyev is stepping down as governor of Kemerovo Region before the expiration of his tenure, the administration official told Sputnik on Sunday.

Last week, a fire broke out in the "Zimnyaya Vishnya" ("Winter Cherry") shopping mall in the Russian city of Kemerovo. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, 64 people including 41 children were killed.

On Thursday, Russian media outlets reported that the Russian authorities have decided not to carry out demonstrative dismissal of Aman Tuleyev right after the deadly incident in the shopping mall, saying that governor might leave his office later. </s> FILE PHOTO - Governor of the Kemerovo Region Aman Tuleyev speaks during a meeting in Kemerovo

MOSCOW - The governor of Russia's Kemerovo region resigned on Sunday over a mall fire that killed more than 60 after a litany of violations in safety procedures left shoppers and children trapped inside the building.

Aman Tuleyev, 73, said in a video posted on the regional administration's website that stepping down was the only course of action possible. President Vladimir Putin accepted his resignation, the Kremlin said.

"With such a heavy burden, it's impossible to work as the governor," said Tuleyev, who governed the region for more than two decades. "It's morally impossible."

Last Sunday's fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through a cinema complex and children's play area on the upper floors of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the regional capital.

Investigators said last week that fire exits had been illegally blocked, the public address system was not switched on, the alarm system was broken, and children had been locked inside cinemas.

Putin said the incident had been caused by criminal negligence and those responsible would be punished.

On Sunday he appointed Sergei Tsivilyov, one of the region's deputy governors, to replace Tuleyev as acting governor.

Tsivilyov, 56, has served as the director of Kolmar, a coal mining and processing company, for the past four years.

"I want to tell you, residents of Kemerovo and all the region, that I will do everything for those guilty in this terrible tragedy to receive the harshest punishment," Tsivilyov said in a video address posted on the regional administration's website.

On Friday, police arrested an executive with the firm that owns the shopping mall.

The calamitous way the emergency was handled stirred public anger in Kemerovo and focused attention on corruption and lax fire safety standards. Rallies commemorating the victims were held across the country, including in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Aman Tuleyev, who resigned as governor of Kemerovo Oblast after a shopping centre fire killed 64 people there, is elected speaker of the regional legislature.