(Source: http://abat-mf.livejournal.com)

A rally against the naming of Dudergofsky Canal after the first Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov was held in St. Petersburg on Monday, June 6. According to RIA “Novosti”, about 350 people came to the Field of Mars. According to organizers, the event was attended by about one thousand residents of the city, as “Fontanka” reports.

The organizers - the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Olga Galkina and the Head of the Commission for Education, Culture and Science Maksim Reznik - called for extending the powers of the regional representative government so that officials could not make decisions “without taking into account the opinions of the residents of St. Petersburg”.

They stressed the fact that the meeting “was neither against Caucasians nor against Chechens, but for justice” – “Kommersant” notes. According to TASS, 1400 signatures were collected during the rally under an appeal to the Governor Georgy Poltavchenko with a request to cancel the decision of the Toponymic Commission.

The participants of the rally also adopted a resolution with the request to cancel the decision of the Toponymic Commission and with the expression of no confidence of the Legislative Assembly to the Vice-Governor Vladimir Kirillov heading the Commission. The controversy on this issue rose after the Toponymical Commission of St. Petersburg voted in favor of naming a bridge after the first Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov on May 30. The verdict of the commission is a recommendation for the city authorities. The final decision must be taken by the St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko.