Muscovites continue to protest against the construction of a temple in Torfyanka Park

Residents of the north-east of Moscow have been on duty in the park for several days to prevent the construction of the temple. Supporters of the temple are trying to resume construction work in defiance of the court decision.

On June 19-22, 2015, residents of the Babushkinsky and Losinoostrovsky districts of Moscow were on duty in the Torfyanka park to prevent the passage of equipment to the temple construction site. Tents are pitched in front of the construction site.

According to local residents, the Moscow City Court upheld their complaint about illegal construction in the park and sent the case for a new trial to the Babushkinsky District Court. Construction must be suspended until the district court makes a decision.

Nevertheless, construction supporters are trying to resume work. The site is guarded by Cossacks and people wearing T-shirts with the inscriptions “Novorossiya” and “God’s Will” and stripes in the form of imperial flags. On June 20, one of the construction supporters sprayed one of the local residents in the face with a gas canister. The girl contacted the police.

The police did not intervene in the situation. Local residents intend to protect the park in the future.

Later it became known that the opponents of the construction were supported by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Yabloko, and the supporters of the construction were supported by the Forty Forty movement. According to the Daily Journal , representatives of this movement brought people from the Moscow, Vladimir and Ryazan regions to participate in the action.

On June 24, 2015, Patriarch Kirill called on the parties to the conflict “to renounce confrontation and to peaceful, civilized resolution of all contradictions.” He considered the best option to “wait for the court decision,” and until it is issued, the Orthodox should not come to the construction site, “in order to avoid provocations, and even more so, clashes with opponents of the construction of the temple.” He called on opponents of construction to do the same.

Sources

• Muscovites protect the Torfyanka park from the construction of the Forty Forty Church // 360 Moscow Region. 2015. June 20.
• In Moscow they are protesting against the illegal construction of a temple complex on the site of a park // Kasparov.ru. 2015. June 22.
• Kozlov V., Tumanov G. “We are warriors of light, we will cleanse you all” // Kommersant. 2015. June 24.
• Myaeots O. Temple instead of nightingales. not everyone agrees // Daily Journal. 2015. June 24.
• Appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in connection with the situation surrounding the construction of a temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Ostashkovsky Proezd in Moscow // Patriarchia.ru. 2015. June 24.