Support The Moscow Times!

St. Petersburg Bridge Named After Late Kadyrov Despite Protests

Akhmad Kadyrov

St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko has confirmed the naming of a city bridge after Chechnya’s first president Akhmad Kadyrov despite widespread protests, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.

“Russia remembers and honors its heroes,” said Poltavchenko's spokesman Andrei Kibitov. “Our country does not divide heroes by nationality: this is the essence of our multi-ethnic unity.”

Plans to name the bridge across St. Petersburg's Duderhof channel after the late Kadyrov has sparked outrage among local residents since the idea first emerged in March. A number of politicians, local historians and celebrities attended protests against the initiative in the city center and an online petition on change.org the website has currently gathered almost 100,000 signatures. Critics claim that Kadyrov, the father of current Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, does not have sufficient links to the city. Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated in the Chechen capital of Grozny in 2004.

“The complaint that they [the critics] are trying to hold against Kadyrov — saying that “he did nothing for St. Petersburg” — denies the very essence of our city, the capital of the multinational state for nearly 300 years,” Kibitov said.

The city’s toponymic commission voted in favor of the decision earlier this month via a secret ballot. Some commission members later confessed that their decision was made “under pressure.”

The petition against the bridge's naming failed to make it on to the agenda at a city parliament meeting yesterday, St. Petersburg-based news outlet Fontanka.ru reported. It appeared that opposition deputy Maxim Reznik's microphone was deliberately switched off while he was reading the petition’s text, the newspaper said.

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