19:07, 8 July 2016

Petition against naming bridge after Kadyrov has over 101,000 signatories

Activists of youth division of ‘Yabloko’ Party protest against naming the bridge after Kadyrov, Saint Petersburg, May 2016. Photo: RFE/RL

Bureaucrats are not obliged to react to requests placed on a private resource, in particular, to the petition against renaming a bridge in Saint Petersburg in honour of Akhmat Kadyrov, media professionals believe.

On May 30, the Toponymy Commission of Saint Petersburg announced a proposal to name a bridge over Dudergof Channel after Akhmat Kadyrov. The decision was criticized by public figures, and people held protest actions in the city. However, on June 15, the Governor signed a decree to rename the bridge.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the petition against the naming the bridge after Kadyrov, posted on the website "Change.org" on May 30, gathered over 20,000 signatures during first 24 hours. By June 27, the count of signatories exceeded 100,000.

As of 7:00 p.m. Moscow time, there were 101,555 signatures to the petition.

However, Alexander Amzin, a media analyst and the development director of the "Med-Media" Company, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the petition and signatures posted and collected on the website "Change.org" are no guarantee of any reaction of Russian state structures and agencies.

"Russian officials have repeatedly stated that petitions on the 'Change.org' are disregarded," said Mr Amzin.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Anna Gilyova

Source: CK correspondent