Statement from Cicterna Hall

In light of recent events related to various incidents at the Zeppelin party held at Cicterna Hall on the night of February 17-18, we, the team behind the Cicterna club project, feel compelled to take an active stance and publish the true version of what happened. We were very surprised to learn that on various internet forums, Zeppelin's PR team was actively working to stir up a scandal surrounding the situation and spread false rumors, but this came to an end when a moderator from one of the internet forums exposed them. About a month ago, we learned that Zeppelin had entered into negotiations with Vladimir Usoltsev, one of the operators collaborating with the main lessee of the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University and adjacent territories, an operator who has access to a group of objects managed by the main lessee. Such a scheme exists for flexible rental of premises for various presentations and private events. Targeted work in this direction has never been carried out, but there is indeed demand. We were extremely surprised that Zeppelin were planning to rent Cicterna Hall for one of their club events, as the venue is highly conceptual and does not fit into Zeppelin's format at all. Neither in terms of design nor ergonomics of the space itself. Moreover, it already embodies a certain club format, the vitality of which we support. Cicterna is not suited for events with high attendance (1000-1500 people) and a high percentage of inadequate visitors under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The Cicterna Hall was designed for completely different purposes. Vladimir Usoltsev, with whom Zeppelin signed a lease agreement, is a person far from the club industry, event organization, and everything related to it. In their official statement regarding the events of February 17, Zeppelin talk about some guarantees that Vladimir Usoltsev purportedly provided and commitments he took on, but these words are highly questionable to us. Most likely, it was about renting the walls of the premises and nothing more. Mentions that Mr. Usoltsev allegedly also made Zeppelin hire his coat check attendants sound simply ridiculous. How exactly did Mr. Usoltsev 'make' them? Most likely, none of this was in the signed contract. Zeppelin also use phrases like 'Cicterna Hall club', 'Cicterna Hall staff', 'Cicterna Hall club administration', and so on. We can assure you that firstly, there is no Cicterna Hall club, there is an abstract hall, therefore there could not have been any staff or administration of 'Cicterna Hall club' at the event. There is a club project within the walls of Cicterna Hall, which is supported by us, just as there is a club project on the territory of the Hermitage Garden. We have our own employees, our own staff, and so on - none of them were present at the February 17 event. With the same ease with which Zeppelin provided their security and bartenders, Mr. Usoltsev provided staff on his own, and it is indeed strange that he was allowed to do so, considering Zeppelin's many years of experience that many are talking about now. It is also not fair to shift the blame onto the coat check attendants, who in a panic situation without the organizers' and security's help simply could not cope. The information previously disseminated by Zeppelin representatives that underage teenagers were working in the coat check and were stealing clothes turned out to be false. Police expertise showed that all the coat check staff are of legal age. Furthermore, in Zeppelin's official statement, they claim to have called the Police, while witnesses assert that the Police were called by the victims, and Zeppelin representatives did not even answer calls from the local police for some time. Where is the truth? Let's move on to the most important details to consider when forming your own opinion on the situation. 1. As many people correctly noted on the forums, at the event on February 17, one of the coat checks on the second floor was blocked off to regular visitors because it was part of the VIP area organized by Zeppelin. In this situation, this was one of the fatal decisions, as the space is designed in a way that controlling the flow of incoming and outgoing visitors is only possible when both coat checks are in operation and people can freely circulate on the second floor (balcony), which was not possible in this case. It's not even about the capacity of this second coat check (from 300 to 500 items in different configurations), but about its real, ancillary function. For this reason, we never tried to zone the second floor, and we always place a guard at the staircase opposite the door to the second coat check, so he can control the situation and manage the flow of people. We have never had any problems with this, even with a high occupancy of the venue. 2. Some individuals falsely claimed that Cicterna Hall has only one exit, which supposedly is impermissible for an underground space. But in reality, there are two main exits: one to Prospekt Mira, the other to the business center upstairs, and there is a third, fire exit, the door to which is located to the right of the bar. The ergonomics of such critical nuances at Cicterna Hall are quite clearly observed, as this place was designed by one of Moscow's best architects. The fact that attendees of the event on February 17 were not informed about the landmarks of alternative exits from the premises in a critical situation leads to only one thought - the organizers had no knowledge about it. From the above, it's easy to understand that when renting Cicterna Hall, Zeppelin did not take into account the most critical nuances of ergonomics and visitor safety at the event. By familiarizing oneself with the layout of the premises and its specifications, it is possible to model how to organize club space in such a location without any obstacles. Naturally, if desired. However, we dare to assume that Zeppelin did not bother to take such details into account, which resulted in various problems. And in the morning, when there was a crush at the exit from Cicterna Hall and panic among visitors, the director of Zeppelin Productions, Dmitry Ashman, instead of directing people towards additional exits from the premises and controlling the situation, was busy with himself, engaged in a fight that resulted in one person currently hospitalized with a broken jaw and a concussion. We apologize and express support to the people affected by what happened. We are confident that eventually the public will understand who the real culprit of the incident is.