Traffic police have fined Smolensk city manager Nikolai Alasheyev 2,000 rubles ($70) for failing to clear the streets of snow in a timely manner, a police spokesman said on Monday.
A heavy snowfall has continued in the central Russian city since Friday, with 22 millimeters of precipitation, which is 2 millimeters above the danger level.
“It has been snowing hard, but there has been enough time to clear it,” the spokesman said.
Although the number of traffic accidents has not increased, traffic has been snarled, with only the central streets being kept more or less snow-free.
Alasheyev has 10 days to appeal the penalty.
A city administration officer said the existing fleet of snow-fighting vehicles was only half what was required and so the city manager ordered more than 100 city administration officials to go out into the street with spades and other equipment to clear the snow.
