Residents of St. Petersburg protest against the construction of a shopping center on the site of a destroyed chapel

On March 28, a spontaneous rally of protest against the construction of a shopping and entertainment complex on the site of the Transfiguration Chapel destroyed in Soviet times was held in St. Petersburg on Courage Square. During the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Victory, a monument to those who died in the war was laid on this site, and a group of city residents took the initiative to restore the chapel. However, later the construction of a shopping center was started here.

The protesters were allowed to enter the fenced area and lay flowers at the foundation stone. After that, the audience staged a picket at the gate of the fence to prevent trucks from entering the territory. Representatives of the public association "Square of Courage" announced that the residents of the city are ready to "stand to the death": on the eve of one of the participants in the action, the blockade was taken away with a stroke and is in a coma.

At the same time, a meeting of the city government was held. When the governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, was informed about what was happening, she said: "Well, if people don't want a store there, well, God bless him, don't build there!" However, no official decision to stop construction was made.

The St. Petersburg diocese does not comment on the situation.

On March 29, Roman Filimonov, chairman of the city administration's construction committee , told Portal-Credo.ru that the construction of the center had been temporarily suspended. However, according to him, litigation is still unavoidable. "The issue must be resolved in the legal field, since the developer has all the necessary documents for the work," - said R. Filimonov.

At the same time, Alexander Alakhanov, co-chairman of the Ploshchad Muzhestva public association, told the portal that "a picket that prevents construction equipment from entering the site will be put up until it stops completely."

On May 9, Portal-Credo.ru, citing an initiative group of Petersburgers , reported that Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir (Kotlyarov) appealed to Governor Valentina Matvienko with a request to give the disputed plot of land on Courage Square to the diocese - in order to restore the eparchy destroyed in 1970 on this site -s yrs. Transfiguration Chapel.

"The appeal to the governor was the first official intervention of the diocese in the conflict, which has been going on on Courage Square for more than a year," the portal notes.

Sources