A powerful explosion and fire occurred at the Kazan Gunpowder Plant.

An explosion followed by a fire occurred at the Gunpowder Factory in Kazan, with injuries reported, according to the press service of the head of Tatarstan.

A powerful explosion rocked the Kirovsky district of Kazan. Local sources reported a very loud roar coming from the Powder Plant. Several fire trucks and ambulances soon arrived in the area.

Preliminary, the cause of the explosion is man-made and is in no way connected with the attack of the Ukrainian dronesThe explosion and fire resulted in partial structural collapse, with injuries. However, production has not been halted, and there is no danger to the city. Emergency services and law enforcement are working at the scene.

The cause is man-made. There are casualties. All emergency services responded promptly to the scene to address the aftermath. The injured are receiving necessary medical assistance. The production process has not been interrupted. There is no threat to human life or health.

The Kazan Gunpowder Factory was founded in the 18th century and today produces gunpowder for small arms. weapons и artillery.

Comments

[ZhEK-Vodogrey]

If not for the SVO, it would have been demolished to make way for residential developments. The depreciation of the main technological equipment has reached 90%.

[Sergey3]

I have never understood people who are willing to pay exorbitant prices to buy an apartment in a building built on soil that has been chemically treated hundreds of meters deep.

[topol717]

Firstly, people don't know what's been treated there or where, and secondly, no one lives on the ground floor now, and the first floor is considered bad everywhere. And most importantly, water is an ideal solvent and will wash away anything over time and transport it hundreds of kilometers.

[hammer it]

Quote from: topol717

Firstly, people don't know what's been poisoned there and where, and secondly, no one lives on the ground now, the first floor is considered bad everywhere.

First of all, people know everything. And the smart ones even check.
Secondly, people live on the land of decent estates.
Vtertykh - people who are constrained by their situation build houses higher than one floor.
Fourthly, there is no ideal solvent and hazardous substances accumulate in the soil.
Fifthly, the transfer of hundreds of kilometers of riverbeds...

[nik-mazur]

Quote: hammerite

People who are constrained by their situation build houses higher than one floor

Funny joke...

[hammer it]

Quote from: nik-mazur

Quote: hammerite

People who are constrained by their situation build houses higher than one floor

Funny joke...

What's the joke here? It's a sad fact.
It's like a "wall with a mezzanine" in a narrow hallway, instead of a normal dressing room...

[nik-mazur]

Quote: hammerite

And what's the joke here?

The point is that buildings higher than one floor aren't just found in residential areas. Incidentally, no one builds them for themselves, but rather developers build them for sale. But people build more than one floor for themselves, complete with a basement and attic, not because they're cramped, but quite the opposite.

[akarfoxhound]

My colleague is right: basements and attics are built due to financial, spatial, or mental constraints. The extreme case is not uncommon: someone builds a gigantic multi-story monstrosity for themselves. A few years later, their now-grown children move out, and this "intelegraphed" individual lives with his wife in a mansion with a dusty path from the bedroom to the kitchen to the toilet. Then, for 65-70 rubles, they sell this "rich shed," because they're no longer able to maintain it, nor even climb the stairs. But those who can afford such a "shed" are in no hurry to buy old, used ones, "for some reason." Maybe because they can build what they need for that price, just as they need new ones? And then these abandoned multi-story shacks from the 90s-2000s stand, with dark, dusty windows and "For Sale" signs faded over the years. Now in the 2010s and 2020s, such "abandoned" houses began to appear in regions of Mother Russia.

[nik-mazur]

Quote: akarfoxhound

basements and attics are built due to financial, territorial or mental constraints

Yes, yes, the rich and smart build themselves a one-story, three-window hut on a hectare of land. And they wait until the children have moved out so they can enjoy the conveniences of a small space at 65 or 70.
Do you really think so or is this some kind of meditation for self-soothing?

[Scipio]

I've never understood people who criticize things like that! What difference does it make to you? Someone can build a big house, so what does that make to you? Envy and anger...

[hammer it]

Quote from: nik-mazur

The point is that buildings higher than one floor aren't just found in residential areas. Incidentally, no one builds them for themselves, but rather developers build them for sale. But people build more than one floor for themselves, complete with a basement and attic, not because they're cramped, but quite the opposite.

A wonderful example of constraint! In this case: narrow and stereotypical thinking.

Are you planning to live in the basement? I can certainly understand a wine cellar and vegetable storage, but those are outbuildings... Maybe you need a bomb shelter or a warehouse?
An attic is a whole other level of insanity... A full floor is definitely better. Are you a pigeon—should you live in an attic, or do you need a lookout tower/fire watchtower? Build yourself a couple more bedrooms and an office, a guest house... Whether you want it in the same building or separate.
Why even go above the first floor??? Is it exercise or just a childish desire to ride the elevator?

[nik-mazur]

Quote: hammerite

Are you going to live in a basement?

Maybe yes. Maybe no. Who cares?

Quote: hammerite

a wine cellar and a vegetable storehouse, but these are outbuildings

Firstly, a basement, even with a wine cellar, is not an outbuilding, but a utility room.
Secondly, who cares what's in my basement?

Quote: hammerite

Maybe you need a bomb shelter or a warehouse

Maybe it's necessary. It's my business, isn't it?

Quote: hammerite

The attic is a separate kind of madness

Everyone goes crazy in their own way. Some people like the attic, others like the lack of one.

Quote: hammerite

Why go above the first floor at all?

I like it. Who does it bother?

Bottom line: All your arguments for a single floor are nothing more than subjective tastes, which you, for some reason, present as a manifestation of intelligence and freedom. Which kind of suggests...

[hammer it]

Quote from: nik-mazur

Who cares?

Quote from: nik-mazur

Secondly, who cares what's in my basement?

Quote from: nik-mazur

Maybe it's necessary. It's my business, isn't it?

Quote from: nik-mazur

Some people like the attic, others like the lack of it.

Quote from: nik-mazur

I like it. Who does it bother?

Quote from: nik-mazur

Bottom line: All your arguments for a single floor are nothing more than subjective tastes, which you, for some reason, present as a manifestation of intelligence and freedom. Which kind of suggests...

Quite the opposite. All your arguments boil down to personal preferences, completely unsubstantiated. Not a single answer to the question: why do you personally need this?

[nik-mazur]

Quote: hammerite

All your arguments are reduced to some personal preferences, not supported by any reasoning.

Of course. Just like yours. Only, unlike you, I'm not claiming that those who think otherwise are financially and/or mentally strapped.

Quote: hammerite

Not a single answer to the question - why do you personally need this?

Are you kidding me? Do I even need to justify why I wear boots and not sneakers? Because that's how I want to wear them. That's all. There are questions that don't require any other arguments.

[hammer it]

Quote from: nik-mazur

Are you kidding me? Do I even need to justify why I wear boots and not sneakers? Because that's how I want to wear them. That's all. There are questions that don't require any other arguments.

Not at all. You're simply incapable of arguing your point of view... Fed up with cliches and afraid of outside opinions.
So why do you wear boots?
I still prefer short boots these days.

[nik-mazur]

Quote: hammerite

You are simply not able to argue your point of view.

Right now, I have a copy of Neufert and Neff's "Design and Construction" at hand, if you know what that is. I can justify any parameter for you from any point of view, be it design or ergonomics.
So leave your illusions about cliches and opinions behind.
If you like single-story houses, that's fine. But that doesn't make your choice the most sensible and correct, much less free from cliches and stereotypes.
By the way, I have nothing against one-story houses.

Quote: hammerite

Why do you wear shoes?

I like it. And it's a classic lace-up shoe with no zipper.
And this is the very case when it is appropriate to recall the Latin saying: “Hoc volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas” (let my will be the argument).

[hammer it]

Quote from: nik-mazur

I can justify any parameter for you from any point of view, be it design or ergonomics.

Attic (loft) ergonomics – already interesting...

Quote from: nik-mazur

Quote: hammerite
Why do you wear shoes?
I like it.

I'm sure you actually enjoy walking barefoot. But you're limited in your abilities... The grass pricks, the pebbles are all different.

[hammer it]

Quote from: nik-mazur

This is a classic lace-up shoe.

What are the laces for? - To bow to your own shoes and practice fine motor skills in your fingers?

Of course, constrained by the "Shimano SPD" format, I chose a more progressive option for the tight fit of contact shoes...
Naturally, if I'm with a spinning rod, so as not to be too constrained by the conditions, I wear chest-high waders...
Laces are something from the field of rock climbing and jogging...
When I was young, at work, I liked leather laces—they didn't burn. After a bit of practice, I made hooks out of stainless steel. A little later, I saw that the Italians had solved the problem of quickly removing shoes a little differently—with a pin. It's a simple pin with a ring, but the lacing design is different. What I definitely liked about them was the puncture-resistant stainless steel insoles.
Well, after running hundreds of kilometers in tarpaulin boots, I became a fan. Only in the summer, of course, when temperatures reach 10°C.
In winter - definitely felt boots... But there is a nuance.
Of course, I don't go to the registry office in flip-flops and sandals...
In general, adaptation to constraints and limitations.

[nik-mazur]

Quote: hammerite

Ergonomics of the attic (loft)

You misunderstood my words: the fact that I can justify something does not mean that I want to do it.
But to put it simply, the ergonomic features of attics/lofts are determined by the sloping walls and, typically, the open space without partitions. This is addressed by special window designs and space organization, primarily through custom furniture. Otherwise, there's no fundamental difference from standard rectangular spaces.
With a large area, vertical walls of sufficient height, and a high roof, there are generally no special features or problems.

Quote: hammerite

I'm sure you actually enjoy walking barefoot.

No. The only exception is the sea beach.

Quote: hammerite

Why laces?

Laces are needed to keep shoes from falling off. What could be unclear about that?

[hammer it]

Quote from: nik-mazur

Laces are needed to keep shoes from falling off. What could be unclear about that?

Parachutist?
Boots, felt boots, slippers, and many shoes have no laces... and they don't fall off.

[nik-mazur]

Quote: hammerite

Parachutist?

No. I just like it that way. And you're picking at things that are very far removed from the original thesis and, what's more, completely irrelevant to you.

[Simargl]

Quote: hammerite

First of all, people know everything.

You don't cross paths with people. Some are so stupid you can't even see how they hold a spoon, but no, they're rich and the girls love them.

Quote: hammerite

And the sensible ones also check.

There are few of them.

Quote: hammerite

Secondly, people live on the land of decent estates.

Where can I get so much money?

Quote: hammerite

Vtertykh - people who are constrained by their situation build houses higher than one floor.

So, for general development: the second floor is built only by the very rich, or if the plot is really small.
Up to about 200 square meters of space on one floor is more than enough! A normal staircase would take up at least 12 square meters.

Quote: hammerite

Fourthly, there is no ideal solvent and hazardous substances accumulate in the soil.

It turns out that if a substance is not water-soluble, it hardly drifts in the soil, since practically the only solvent that gets into the soil is water, oddly enough.

Quote: hammerite

Fifthly, the transfer of hundreds of kilometers of riverbeds...

Groundwater? No, I haven't heard of it!

[hammer it]

Quote: Simargl

You don't cross paths with people. Some people are so stupid.

I'm talking about people, not stupid ones... If you noticed.
And I "intersect" with very different ones, even with single-celled ones...

Quote: Simargl

Where can I get so much money?

Cramped conditions...
The box is opened simply and money is far from always the fundamental factor, even under capitalism.

Quote: Simargl

So, for general development: the second floor is built only by the very rich, or if the plot is really small.
Up to about 200 square meters of space on one floor is more than enough! A normal staircase would take up at least 12 square meters.

Well, you're quite an architect... six per meter of one span is quite enough.
They're trying to build a mansion on 4 square meters. The conditions are cramped.

Quote: Simargl

It turns out that if a substance is not water-soluble, it hardly drifts in the soil, since practically the only solvent that gets into the soil is water, oddly enough.

Are heavy metals water-soluble? How do you think oil is extracted?

Quote: Simargl

Groundwater? No, I haven't heard of it!

Never drawn gas from a well? I just poured it straight into the Izhevsk matzatzikiel and drove off.

[Simargl]

Quote: hammerite

I'm talking about people, not stupid ones... If you noticed.

People are different.

Quote: hammerite

money is not always the fundamental factor, even under capitalism

But this is, of course, a secret?

Quote: hammerite

Well, you're quite an architect... six per meter of one span is quite enough.

And you are ShchShitun!
6 sq m - first floor, 6 sq m - second floor... how much? Ж Will it be 6+6?! I need a calculator!

Quote: hammerite

They're trying to build a mansion on 4 square meters. The conditions are cramped.

This is a brain lesion (a severe case of poverty).

Quote: hammerite

Are heavy metals water-soluble? How do you think oil is extracted?

Salts are soluble. I can tell you about oil. And about pad drilling, and about hydraulic fracturing. Do you need it? Should I send you my card number?

Quote: hammerite

Have you ever drawn gasoline from a well?

When there is gasoline in the well, nothing can help.

[hammer it]

Quote: Simargl

And you are ShchShitun!
6 sq m is the first floor, 6 sq m is the second floor... how much is 6 + 6?! I need a calculator!

Take a site plan and draw a staircase...
Even forty floors. Can I get you a pencil?

[Simargl]

Quote: hammerite

Take a site plan and draw a staircase...

And?
I understand that you need to have at least some spatial thinking and basic arithmetic skills; logic wouldn't hurt...
Well, I drew it on land plan the stairs, what next?
Anyone who isn't hopelessly stupid is already beginning to guess that the space under the stairs isn't really used, so on the first floor, its area is subtracted. On the second floor, the stairs are an opening (a hole), so the area isn't used either. Plus, there are railings and landings, which must always be free, and that's at least another 1 sq m per floor, so your 6 sq m turns into 12-15 sq m of parasitic space, i.e., 6-10% of the house's area (the smaller the total, the greater the relative).
I see you haven't found a pencil to count!

[alexoff]

This usually happens because the price in better areas is 1.5-2 times higher. But the budget doesn't allow for more.

[RUSICH]

Quote: Sergey3

I have never understood people who are willing to pay exorbitant prices to buy an apartment in a building built on soil that has been chemically treated hundreds of meters deep.

"If you want to live, you'll have to spread yourself thin" (Peculiarities of the National Hunt)
Not everyone can afford to be as selective as you. Most people buy housing where it's cheapest.

[Montezuma]

Quote: ZhEK-Vodogrey

If not for the SVO, it would have been demolished to make way for residential developments. The depreciation of the main technological equipment has reached 90%.

Regarding 90% wear and tear, the data is from May 2017. Is there any more recent information? Otherwise, it should be over 100% by 2026.

Volga Region / News
May 29, 2017, 09:43 AM
The main technical equipment of the Kazan Gunpowder Plant is 90% worn out, according to Rostekhnadzor.

Kazan. May 29. INTERFAX-VOLGA REGION - The equipment at Russia's oldest gunpowder factory, the Kazan State Gunpowder Plant (KGKPZ), where accidents have been occurring regularly in recent years, is almost completely worn out, according to a report from the Volga Region Office of Rostekhnadzor, published on the agency's website.

https://www.interfax-russia.ru/volga/news/osnovnoe-tehoborudovanie-kazanskogo-porohovogo-zavoda-iznosheno-na-90-rostehnadzor

[Igor M.]

Montezuma, in 2024, the plant was modernized after it was transferred to Rostec.

As part of the investment program, 40 facilities at the Kazan Gunpowder Plant are being reconstructed. Rostec emphasized that the investments will enable ammunition industry enterprises to increase production severalfold, which will help equip the Russian army with essential equipment and fulfill state defense orders.

[Simargl]

Quote: Montezuma

Otherwise, it turns out that by 2026 it should already be above 100%.

At 99,99%.
0,01% and boom.
They overlooked the filthy juices! They couldn't report the proper resource.

[Igor M.]

ZhEK-Vodogrey, this was the case in 2017. The plant was renovated in 2024. From the 2025 news:

Modernization carried out at the Kazan Gunpowder Plant has allowed the plant to increase shell production, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev announced on February 19.
He visited the plant and held a meeting there. The Deputy Chairman of the Security Council noted that the state has allocated significant resources to the enterprise's development, and significant changes have been visible since his last visit, including the addition of new buildings and separate workshops.
"The enterprise is undergoing large-scale technical re-equipment and production modernization, and new capacities have been introduced that will allow, and have already allowed, an increase in the production of ammunition for various types of weapons," Medvedev said.

[RUSICH]

Quote: ZhEK-Vodogrey

If not for the SVO, it would have been demolished to make way for residential developments. The depreciation of the main technological equipment has reached 90%.

I'd like to point out that equipment and buildings are two completely different things. The equipment will be replaced and modernized. But the walls are certainly stronger than modern ones.

[Sergey3]

It's his favorite thing to do, blowing himself up every year. How many chemistry students died there? He was constantly blowing himself up before the war, too.

[Huarabey]

There wasn't even a particularly loud explosion. The media is blowing things out of proportion. At least, several of my friends living in Kazan didn't hear any noise at all.

[fruc]

Preliminary reports indicate that the explosion was man-made and not related to an attack by Ukrainian drones.

I readily believe that, apart from drones, there are other methods of stopping the production process and agents for this.

[Sergey3]

But not at this plant, there are cameras on every pole, but the Irkutsk IAZ burned down yesterday, it’s quite possible because of this.

[fruc]

hammer it
And dangerous industries - with enviable regularity.

Okay, let's assume that's true. Then what kind of production process, personnel performance, safety, or production culture can we talk about here? After all, this isn't a pigsty where shit is shoveled out, but a national defense enterprise.

[hammer it]

Quote: frruc

hammer it
And dangerous industries - with enviable regularity.

Okay, let's assume that's true. Then what kind of production process, personnel performance, safety, or production culture can we talk about here? After all, this isn't a pigsty where shit is shoveled out, but a national defense enterprise.

Let me remind you of Mayak, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima... And they had to scoop out the radioactive crap with shovels. Now that's a pigsty, the most highly organized one. Or were they agents?

[fruc]

hammer it
Now that's a pigsty, a pigsty of the highest order. Or are they agents?

Let a special commission and the Government of the Republic, in cooperation with the relevant agencies, handle this. They know more than we do.

[hammer it]

Quote: frruc

Let a special commission deal with this.

Logically ...
In fact, the production of nitrocellulose is an extremely dangerous process, and explosions at gunpowder factories are not uncommon.

[Igor M.]

frruc, gunpowder factories periodically explode in all countries of the world.

In the United States, several incidents have occurred recently at defense facilities. Specifically, explosions were reported at the Accurate Energetic Systems explosives plant in Tennessee (October 2025, resulting in fatalities) and at a Northrop Grumman facility in Utah (April 2025, resulting in building destruction), as well as a fire at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia.

France (2022): In August 2022, an explosion occurred at a gunpowder factory in Bergerac (southwestern France) producing nitrocellulose. Several people were injured.

But in this case in Kazan there was a fire, not an explosion.

[Igor M.]

frruc,

The production process has not been stopped.

People felt a loud sound and a wave because the plant's special pressure relief system, which is provided for by safety regulations for such cases, was activated.

[Sedov]

Each accident has a name, surname and position

[Apprentice_SAM]

Quote: Sedov

Each accident has a name, surname and position

"Safety engineer Evgeny Bronislavovich BankO" (c) - about ten years ago I came across a cool story on the Internet, I recommend it!

[Normann]

During the war, they started exploding on their own more often. It’s clear that the load is much greater, but these are military-industrial complex enterprises.

[Vitaly.17]

The military-industrial complex, like the army, doesn't exist in a vacuum. Societal problems there only worsen. Their isolation from the media and criticism takes its toll.

[Igor M.]

Vitaly.17, dangerous production. "Isolation from the media and criticism" has nothing to do with it.
Abroad, similar factories also regularly explode.

[Igor M.]

Norman, three similar factories exploded in the US last year. In France, a gunpowder factory exploded in 2022.

[hammer it]

In Spain, the Rheinmetall shell factory went bust in 2014, if I remember correctly...
There were also accidents in Rubizhne (Luhansk region) and Pavlogradske (Dnepropetrovsk region)... 30 and 40 years ago. There was a bang in Kazakhstan, there was a fire in Biysk, in Donetsk's Kazenny... I can't remember everything.

[Boycott]

I knew two gunpowder factories, in Kemerovo and Krasnoyarsk. The workshops were bunded, deserted, and, if possible, had no roof at all or only a light one. They wouldn't last more than a year anyway (I'm exaggerating a bit). So there's nothing unusual about this news.

[ZhEK-Vodogrey]

In Kazan, the territory of Porokhovoye is almost one forest area, and since the enterprise was closed, the forest is in good condition.

[fruc]

There have been explosions at gunpowder and fertilizer plants in the past, too. I won't list them all, but there were numerous casualties. This leaves me with some vague doubts.

[Andobor]

In the States, chemicals and petrochemicals regularly burn and explode. Okay, so it's dangerous production, but the VO feed is full of idiots who attribute this to a curse.

[nik-mazur]

Quote: Andobor

In the States, chemicals and petrochemicals regularly burn and explode.

By the way, yes. Relatively recently, some explosives factory exploded in America.
Question: For what reason?
Variants of answers:
1. Wear and tear of equipment or work to the point of wear and tear due to war.
2. Low discipline and production culture.
3. Ukrainian drone or Ukrainian sabotage.
4. Shit happens...

[Igor M.]

frruc, it's the same all over the world. Dangerous production.

[rocket757]

If you remember how many INCIDENTS happen at enterprises and how many of them are due to the fault of CONTRACTORS/SUPPORTERS... you wonder how anything still works here!!!
Oh yeah... there are so many "valuable specialists" from neighboring, former companies working in those third-party offices, it's no surprise!

[-Paul-]

At such enterprises, even the contractors are Russian citizens.

[rocket757]

Anything is possible... I haven't been to that particular plant, however... however, I'm already retired and now I don't have to study and sign reports/protocols about various incidents every other day...

[fruc]

-Paul-
At such enterprises, even the contractors are Russian citizens.

I readily believe that for the last 10 years they haven’t been able to issue passports in time and they’ve been saying “mine and yours don’t understand.”

[hammer it]

Quote: frruc

I readily believe that for the last 10 years they haven’t been able to issue passports in time and they’ve been saying “mine and yours don’t understand.”

Try to get a pass to at least some branch of Gazprom or Rosneft...
Don't get it, Taya-Maya... You'll be taking industrial safety exams on a computer, in front of a video camera. At the very least, briefings... A certificate from the hospital and the police station. And only then, maybe, the Security Service will issue a pass.
And then there's security screening, video surveillance, drones, GPS and vehicle trackers, a ban on phones, photos, videos, and office equipment...

This is the real state of affairs ten years ago.
I was talking to the shift supervisor at the field, and my phone rang... His eyes widened, like, "How come I'm not allowed to use my phone, but the contractor can?" "Well, I have security clearance for my phone, my camera, and my laptop." "Show me!" "Yes, please."
How will I work without this?

[Igor M.]

rocket757, no one is immune to accidents. Last year, three similar plants exploded in the US. In China, they explode regularly.

[Monster_Fat]

Naturally, this was a "man-made accident" with minor consequences; no one thought of anything else.

[alexoff]

In August 1917, there were many explosions there, which indirectly contributed to the Kornilov rebellion.
In general, we are constantly catching saboteurs, it cannot be ruled out that someone could get a job at such factories.

[Scientist_]

Quote: Normann

During the war, they started exploding on their own more often. It’s clear that the load is much greater, but these are military-industrial complex enterprises.

But there are sanctions. The equipment is Western, it wears out, and there's nothing to replace it with. So they keep using it until the accident.

[nik-mazur]

Quote from Scientist

The equipment is Western, it wears out, and there's nothing to replace it with. That's why they use it until the accident.

Now it's clear why things are going boom in America too. They have the same Western sanctioned equipment that can't be replaced.

[-Paul-]

The equipment there is truly home-grown.