Russia’s Second-Largest City Forms Evacuation Commission in Preparation for War

The government of Russian St. Petersburg announced the creation of an evacuation commission tasked with relocating residents, as well as safeguarding material and cultural assets, in both peacetime and wartime, The Moscow Times reported on February 4.

The commission’s formation is outlined in a draft decree by Governor Alexander Beglov, published on the city administration’s official website. It follows a government resolution on evacuation procedures signed into law by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in November 2023.

According to the explanatory note attached to the decree, the commission will be responsible for planning, organizing, and ensuring the full execution of evacuation efforts, as well as coordinating agencies involved in the process.

Additionally, it will oversee civil defense drills and monitor the readiness of designated defense facilities.

The commission will include officials from education, healthcare, culture, and social welfare sectors, as well as representatives from transportation agencies, law enforcement, military commissariats, the National Guard, and other state structures.

It will report directly to the governor of St. Petersburg, with its leadership assigned to the deputy governor in charge of utilities and housing services.

Earlier, authorities in Russia’s Leningrad region announced plans to convert underground spaces, including basements of apartment buildings, into bomb shelters to protect its 2 million residents “in the event of an emergency.”