Russia journalist Vladimir Solovyov has proposed to reward Tajiks who saved dozens of lives during the shopping mall blaze in the Russian city of Kemerovo.

Speaking at his TV debate show, Evening with Vladimir Solovyov, which was dedicated to the Kemerovo tragedy, he suggested that Tajiks who had saved dozens of lives in Kemerovo should be rewarded.

“Those two guys from Tajikistan, who save dozens of lives – they really did everything they could.  They are heroes and they should be rewarded,” Solovyov stated.  

Recall, five Tajik shopkeepers who work at the Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) mall.  Farzon Salimov, a native of Dushanbe, owns a business on the second floor of the Zimnyaya Vishnya complex, where he and four other Tajik workers, including Mahmoud Khojayev, Karomatullo Qurbonov, Jamshed Abdullozoda and Suhrob Saifov, sell shoes and clothes.

Tajik shopkeepers may have helped up to 50 people get to safety.

At least 64 people, many of them were children, died in the fire that engulfed a shopping and entertainment complex in the Siberian coal-mining city of Kemerovo.  

The blaze reportedly started on an upper floor of the Winter Cherry complex during school holidays.  The mall's shops, cinema and bowling alley were reportedly packed at the time.

Russia's Investigative Committee said four people have been detained after it had discovered "serious violations" in its inquiry into Kemerovo shopping mall blaze.

Vladimir (born October 20, 1963 in Moscow, USSR) is a Russian TV and radio journalist.  He graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys and completed a post-doc position at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations.  Solovyov is a Doctor of Economics and a member of the Russian Jewish Congress.

Currently he is the presenter of a TV talk show, Duel on Rossiya 1. Solovyov also hosts a debate show, Evening with Vladimir Solovyov, on Rossiya 1 TV Channel.