Is every station of Minsk metro guarded well? (photos, figures)
Policemen do not always stand near metro trunstiles.
In order to determine the
extent to which the metro guards monitor
the entrance turnstiles, we visited
all the existing Minsk metro
stations (in late July, 2012). This February, we have visited the three new metro
stations - "Hruszauka", "Michałowa" and "Piatrouszczyna"
(and paid additional visits to some stations
where we were before).
We filmed at the grounds with turnstiles. We visited the stations visited at different times of the day.
Thus, our survey let us calculate the extent of the metro protection by the people in uniform.
THE SURVEY RESULTS
At present, there are 28 stations in use in the Minsk metro.
A guard who watched the turnstiles or controlled
the situation on the platform was physically present
at 10 stations.
At 18 stations, the turnstiles were watched only by female controllers, whose mission was not to admit ticketless
travelers to the metro.
According to our survey, only 36% of all stations are properly guarded by men in uniform.
Attention! Each argument of this survey can be confirmed by the relevant video.
Interior Minister: "The combination of a guard’s physical presence
and new techniques contributes to the protection of the metro".
After the terrorist attack on April 11, 2011 it seemed that the people in
uniform would be on duty at the metro entrance turnstiles as if they were a
royal throne. At first it was like this. Any large items were checked with
metal detectors everywhere.
However, as time passed they started watching the turnstiles less thoroughly. The
journalists repeatedly signaled about this situation. In the summer of 2012 Euroradio
correspondents walked through the metro with a big bag, following the way of
metro blast convict Dzmitry Kanavalau, almost unhindered.
In autumn, the issue of insufficient metro protection was raised in the program "Open Format" on the ONT TV channel.