Volgograd residents suffer from round-the-clock snow cannon noise

The noise from snow cannons at a paid tubing slope in Volgograd«s Kirovsky district continues to disturb residents of nearby homes. Locals report that after Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR), ordered a criminal case to be initiated, the equipment fell silent, but only for three days.

Earlier, residents of both the «Coliseum» residential complex and the elite Gornaya Polyana village complained about the constant hum. The slope«s operation was briefly suspended after an incident involving injured children, but the snow cannons soon started up again. Ultimately, residents made a video appeal to Alexander Bastrykin, after which the head of the Investigative Committee ordered the initiation of a criminal case.

According to open sources, the owner of the winter recreation center is Aquatoria LLC, registered in 2021 with an authorized capital of 10,000 rubles (approx. $110 at current rates). The sole founder of the company is Elena Karpenko. She also founded six other legal entities, in many of which co-owners are listed as members of the family of major Volgograd developers, the Nazarovs.

“There was no hum for three days after that. But now the cannons have resumed round-the-clock work,” says an outraged resident of Gornaya Polyana. “The video is from January 21. Around 1:20 a.m. Night! The cannons are working again. And they do it around the clock. The hum is intense. At a distance of 500–600 meters from the cannons, it can be heard even with the windows closed. People called the police — no one came. They called the head of the district administration and the police — they said they«d »look into it«. And this has been going on for a month and a half. Does it mean that in Volgograd even Alexander Bastrykin has no authority?”

The operator of the winter recreation center, answering a call to the number on the website, stated: “We are operating within all norms.”

Alexander Andronov, head of the Investigative Committee«s department for the Kirovsky district of Volgograd, confirmed the initiation of a criminal case. He said that the department will soon conduct an inspection with measurements and interviews of those involved. According to him, no decisions to refuse to initiate a case have been received from the Volgograd Regional Prosecutor»s Office.

Natalia Rudnik, Senior Assistant to the Head of the Investigative Directorate for the region, noted in response to a request: “In connection with the official request received regarding this fact, the answer will be sent within the time limits established by law.”

The press service of the Volgograd Regional Prosecutor«s Office stated that the situation with the snow cannon noise is under the control of the supervisory authority. The issue of involving specialists from the regional office of Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) in the inspection is also being decided.

Similar noise problems are troubling other Volgograd residents. Residents of houses on Glazkova Street in the Central District have been complaining for several months about low-frequency hum and vibrations from a new boiler house. They tried to appeal to Governor Andrey Bocharov during his inspection of the facility, but officials did not let them approach the head of the region.