In St. Petersburg, for the first time, interruptions in the payment of child benefits arose. Until now, our city was among the few where this problem has never arisen. The failure occurred in 2005 - since January, low-income families burdened with children of preschool and school age have not been able to receive the amounts due to them. And this happened not because of a lack of funds, but... because of flaws in the city law establishing the procedure for transferring compensation.

It was a surprisingly warm April that year; Already in the tenth day there were days when the sun was warming like summer, the sidewalks were dry and dusty, and in the evenings such a turquoise sunset burned over the roofs that one remembered the sea, rocks and the thick iodine smell of drying algae. At the ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress, already from eleven, sunbathers were lining up: lean guys from former athletes and fading ladies. People walked past them, still dressed for winter.

If the proposals announced in the Legislative Assembly by the Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade, Vladimir Blank, become a reality, from July 1, utility bills will increase by more than 40%. Let's go back a year. In April, representatives of the city government sang an old song about the main thing: about the “prohibitively low” housing and communal services tariffs, because of which it is in no way possible to properly maintain our homes.

For almost a month in the northern capital, as throughout Russia, spring conscription has been going on. Young guys' IDs are being checked much more often on the subway. There are real raids on draft dodgers throughout the city. Knowing that it is still impossible to legally recruit into the army in our country (at least that’s what human rights activists say), many potential soldiers are trying to convey information about their health to military registration and enlistment office employees.

The song about how “graduation will end” was sung, and the student rally started. It was discovered by the composer and poet Oleg Kvasha. It seems that the organizers of the event believe that the author of the “evergreen taxi” is an idol for young people, that’s why they invited... Kvasha performed “St. Petersburg - a proud white bird.” The students did not sing along, but waved purple flags. On one side there is the inscription “We are together!”, on the other - “Student Union”.

On April 26, 1986, an accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Then more than 90 million curies of dangerous radionuclides were released into the atmosphere. According to the UN, about 8 and a half million residents of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and other countries were exposed to radioactive radiation. About 155 thousand square kilometers of territory were contaminated with cesium-137 and strontium-90 with half-lives of 30 and 28 years.

This week, what many experts consider to be the most important precedent, was created. The instigators of the allegedly unauthorized public event in support of small business, which took place near Smolny on April 19, are completely acquitted. The administrative case against them was terminated Lawsuits between the organizers of various protests and officials who prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional rights have been going on in an endless series lately in St. Petersburg.

Today and tomorrow there will be concerts by Boris Grebenshchikov in St. Petersburg. BG presents a new album. But we're not talking about music... We're talking about politics. For the first time, Boris Borisovich will come to his hometown not only as a rock guru, but also as a public figure, a “political figure” - as he called himself. This is the figure we are talking about. “The pale guru said that any union is beautiful.