A city bridge of St. Petersburg named after Chechen leader Kadyrov

St. Petersburg toponymic commission agreed on the proposal to name an unnamed city bridge after Chechnya’s first president Akhmad Kadyrov, The Moscow Times reports.

Nine members of the commission supported the new title for the nameless bridge across the Duderhof channel. Six members voted against the motion, which was decided via a secret ballot. Nine commission members also backed the idea of an additional discussion with experts.

The idea to name the bridge after the father of the current Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov emerged in March this year, Slon reported. On Wednesday, the city toponymic commission was called for an emergency meeting in order to accelerate the decision-making process.

St. Petersburg mayor Georgy Poltavchenko refused to consider renaming of one of the city’s streets after Akhmad Kadyrov in January last year, saying that the former Chechen leader “never took a direct part in St. Petersburg’s life.”

Akhmad Kadyrov became Chechen president in 2003. He was assassinated in Grozny in 2004.