Stavropol week: key events and developments
The studio featured mixed moods as guests debated risk and responsibility in mountaineering.
It was a packed week: much happened in Stavropol Krai. Some news cheered us, and some may have upset us. Our fellow residents appeared on national TV, shivered in their homes, and even had a scare over bomb‑threat messages. What else happened this week — read in our traditional Sunday digest.
A legend is gone: Stavropol’s «queen of the ring» Irina Sinetskaya has died at 47
On Friday, 26 September, the Federatsiya boksa Rossii, Russian Boxing Federation (RBF), announced sad news: Irina Sinetskaya, one of the country’s most decorated female boxers, died at the age of 47. The cause of death has not been officially disclosed.
Irina Sinetskaya earned multiple world and European titles during a storied boxing career.
Sinetskaya’s name is known to anyone who has ever followed Russian boxing: three‑time world champion, five‑time European champion, 11‑time Russian champion, Honored Master of Sport.
«She always fought to the very end. Even if she trailed in the early rounds, everyone knew she would pull herself together in the final and turn the bout around. They just don’t make fighters like her anymore», — noted one of the coaches.
«My ascent turned into a survival quest»: Stavropol climber facing possible amputation after climbing Khan Tengri went on «Pust’ govoryat»
The episode of «Pust’ govoryat» (TV talk show) aired on 29 September. The main topic was Natalya Nagovitsina’s ascent of Peak Pobedy. But that tragedy became a starting point for discussing the broader problem of mountain fatalities when unprepared people attempt summits and remain in the ice forever. However, Nagovitsina is not the only one who overestimated her strength and died. The show also raised the crucial issue of commercial ascents and guides.
Viktoria from Stavropol Krai recounted her Khan Tengri ordeal on the televised program.
The broadcast included the story of a woman from Stavropol who recently summited Khan Tengri at the cost of her health. The mountains claimed another victim — the owner of a beauty salon in Lermontov (Stavropol Krai). The Stavropol stylist‑hairdresser Viktoria set out to conquer Khan Tengri on 3 August. She was supposed to climb to an altitude of 7,010 meters (23,000 ft) above sea level, but the ascent ended with serious injuries. She blames Grigory K., the guide to whom she paid US$4,500 for the climb.
Viktoria has already shared her survival story with the 26.RU newsroom. On «Pust’ govoryat» she once again recounted how she managed to get out, albeit with severe injuries, and what happened on the peak where Natalya Nagovitsina’s husband, Sergei, died four years ago. As Viktoria put it, her “ascent that was supposed to turn into just another route became a survival quest”.
The Central Bank picked six Pyatigorsk symbols for the new 500‑ruble ($5 at current rates) banknote design
Moscow hosted a meeting of the working group of the Tsentrobank, Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia, CBR), to choose symbols that will adorn the new banknote with a denomination of 500 rubles ($5 at current rates). The final shortlist included landmarks of Pyatigorsk — the resort heart of Stavropol Krai.
Experts considered 16 iconic sites of the North Caucasus and rated them on a five‑point scale. The final list includes six Pyatigorsk symbols that may appear on the new note:
Mount Beshtau;
the “Eagle” sculpture;
Eolova Arfa (Aeolian Harp pavilion);
the Lermontov Gallery of the Stavropol State Philharmonic;
the Academic Gallery.
«My arm smells like meat»: Pyatigorsk blogger Ruki‑Bazuki has holes in his biceps after Vaseline removal
Long ago, Pyatigorsk blogger Kirill Tereshin decided to “improve” his body and injected foreign substances into his face and arms. He is now trying to get rid of all that, but it turned out there is no avoiding surgery. The blogger once again went under the surgeon’s knife and is awaiting healing. Skin may be grafted once the biceps recovers, but at the moment holes and scars are visible.
The blogger’s left biceps shows surgical wounds and scarring while doctors monitor inflammation.
The first operation on his left biceps took place back in June. As Kirill Tereshin said, only half of the substance could be removed at that time. After that came rehabilitation, and he went under the knife again in September. After the repeat intervention, the blogger is waiting for healing. Doctors will watch how the left arm recovers and monitor for inflammation. For now the arm looks, to put it mildly, pretty gruesome, but the blogger hastened to reassure his followers.
He said the severe swelling in the left arm is already gone. Ruki‑Bazuki went for dressing changes, but there is no inflammation at the moment. In one of his clips he did say his “arm smells like meat”; it looks frightening, but apparently everything is going according to plan, since Tereshin is optimistic.
«Darling, I Slacked Off»: a family from Mikhaylovsk took part in a reality show on a federal channel
The protagonists of a new episode of the show «Darling, I Slacked Off» («Dorogaya, ya zabil», reality show) were the Damanov family from Mikhaylovsk (Stavropol Krai), who live in a private house: dad Andrey, mom Klavdiya, and three children — seven‑year‑old Lev, five‑year‑old Teya, and three‑year‑old Ksyusha. As often happens on this program, the head of the household believes there is nothing difficult about domestic duties. Did his wife’s absence change anything?
The Damanov family faced household tasks and parenting challenges during the reality show experiment.
For a long time the head of the family failed to fulfill his wife’s requests to install a sink, assemble furniture, fix the dishwasher, and the like. He believed that women’s duties are simple and that only a man can truly get tired.
Under the project’s rules, Klavdiya went on a three‑day break, and Andrey stayed home with the children. He was given two task lists: the first — ordinary household chores; the second — assignments to build closer bonds with the children. He could call his wife only once. If he coped with the trials, the family would receive 200,000 rubles ($2,000 at current rates). For more about what happened in the episode, read here.
Three schools in Stavropol Krai evacuated over bomb‑threat messages
An anonymous message about a bomb in School No. 1 first came in in Kislovodsk. The building was evacuated of students and staff. Emergency services worked on site, and dog handlers examined the grounds. Later, information about the threat arrived at School No. 1 in Lermontov and in the stanitsa of Yessentukskaya (Stavropol Krai).
It turned out the unified dispatch service received a message from the regional center about a bomb in School No. 1, but the exact address of the educational institution was not specified.
After checks were carried out, the bomb‑threat information was not confirmed — nothing threatened the children.
The heating season has started in cities of Stavropol Krai
It is nearly mid‑autumn. Last week turned out cold: the temperature dropped by half, it rained, and strong winds blew. Homes and apartments in Stavropol grew noticeably cooler, so many wondered when heating would be supplied. However, much as we might like to feel warmth in the radiators at the snap of a finger, that’s not how it works. There are standards governing when it is turned on: the average daily temperature in the region drops to +8 °C (46°F) and remains at that level for five consecutive days.
Some municipalities, however, did not wait until everyone froze and turned the heat on. In Zheleznovodsk and Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk, and Stavropol they started with socially significant institutions. Schools, kindergartens, and hospitals were the first to feel warm radiators. But in Yessentuki they did not stop at the minimum — heating was turned on for all subscribers, including residents of apartment buildings.
Later, Zheleznovodsk also decided to warm residents. Here, from 2 October, heat began to flow into apartments.
