Sirens blared across Russia as part of a national emergency drill on Wednesday, but in Russian President Vladimir Putin's home city, St.Petersburg, speakers played a polonaise from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin."
Russia is testing its emergency public warning systems across the country twice a year as part of a new initiative that kick-started in September 2023.
Wednesday's drills were held nationwide between 10:40 a.m. to 10:46 a.m. Moscow time, with sirens howling from loudspeakers, warning systems for enterprises, television and radio channels, during that time.
But in St. Petersburg, instead of a siren, the Tchaikovsky excerpt was played "in honor of the 145th anniversary of the musical work," Russian newspaper Izvestia reported. Earlier, local news outlet Fontanka reported that a piece of music would be played on loudspeakers instead of an alarm, without elaborating.
Cities across Russia tested outdoor warning systems on Wednesday. But instead of blaring a loud siren, Russia's cultural capital of St. Petersburg played a polonaise from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin.
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) March 6, 2024
Video via https://t.co/b11pQztSwI pic.twitter.com/mx22tFpoc6
Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" was aired on Soviet state TV during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment by email.
Russia last tested its emergency public warning systems in October. At the time, authorities asked the public to "remain calm" during the drill.
"Hearing the sound of a siren, you need to remain calm and not panic, turn on the TV—any publicly accessible channel or radio—and listen to the information message," Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said via its Telegram channel at the time. "The warning system is designed to timely convey a signal to the population in the event of a threat or emergency of a natural or man-made nature."
The ministry said such drills are necessary "to be confident in the performance of all existing systems for the timely delivery of signals and information to the population in the event of emergency situations.
"The readiness of warning systems is being checked, please remain calm," speakers said during the drill.
Wednesday's tests were conducted as authorities in three Russian regions—Belgorod, Voronezh, and Kursk—announced an overnight drone attack. A massive explosion also rocked a combined heat and power plant in the city of Shagonar, in southern Siberia, on Wednesday morning.
Russia has been hit with waves of drone strikes since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with some attacks reaching the capital, Moscow. Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, but the Kremlin has accused Kyiv of attempting to carry out terrorist attacks using drones.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
