×
Enjoying ad-free content?
Since July 1, 2024, we have disabled all ads to improve your reading experience.
This commitment costs us $10,000 a month. Your support can help us fill the gap.
Support us
Our journalism is banned in Russia. We need your help to keep providing you with the truth.

Moscow Construction Worker Impersonates Traffic Cop, Incurs Fine

The Moscow city government plans to penalize a construction company whose employee allegedly posed as a police officer, waving a baton and blowing a whistle in an attempt to resolve traffic gridlock in southwest Moscow, Russian media reports said Tuesday.

The man, dressed in a tracksuit but bearing a police baton and a whistle, was seen directing traffic at the intersection of Prospekt Vernadskogo and Lomonosovsky Prospekt — near Moscow State University — from which gridlock stretched for three kilometers Tuesday, Interfax news agency reported.

When asked to identify himself, the man claimed to be an employee of the construction firm reconstructing the intersection's underground pedestrian crossing, the report said.

Moscow's news portal M24.ru blamed the construction works for causing the rush hour traffic jam, and said city authorities are investigating the incident.

“We are obliged to respond to such things,” deputy mayor and head of the Moscow department of transport and road infrastructure Maxim Liksutov was quoted by M24 as saying.

“We have no right to detain this man — that's the jurisdiction of the police,” he said, adding that the city administration has filed reports with the government's construction watchdog and the police, demanding that the construction firm responsible for the underground crossing “brings order to its site.”

The authorities will impose a serious administrative fine on the contractor following the incident, Liksutov said, M24 reported.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more