Opponents of Akhmat Kadyrov's bridge lay flowers to graffiti with Yuri Budanov's portrait

On June 18 and 19, in Saint Petersburg, people held actions to protest against the naming of the bridge after Akhmat Kadyrov. At the bridge, the protesters unfolded a poster quoting the Kadyrov's words concerning killings of Russians, and nationalists organized an action to lay flowers to the portrait of Colonel Yuri Budanov, who was accused of murdering a Chechen young woman.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 30, the Toponymy Commission of Saint Petersburg voiced an initiative to name an unnamed bridge over the Dudergof Channel after Akhmat Kadyrov. On June 16, it was officially announced that Georgy Poltavchenko, Governor of Saint Petersburg, signed a decree on naming of the bridge.

On June 8, in Saint Petersburg, in protest against the authorities' decision, unidentified persons drew a portrait of Colonel Yuri Budanov near the bridge, which was later named after Akhmat Kadyrov. On July 25, 2003, Yuri Budanov was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering in Chechnya of Elza Kungaeva, a local resident. The court sentenced him to ten years of imprisonment. In January 2009, Yuri Budanov was released from prison, and on June 10, 2011, he was shot dead. In May 2013, Yusup Temerkhanov, a native of Chechnya, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony on the charge of killing Colonel Yuri Budanov.

On June 19, people held an action of laying flowers at the graffiti with the portrait of Yuri Budanov. While commenting on their actions on the air of the "Rain" TV Channel, the protesters have called the authorities' decision unfair and offensive.

"Today, I have come here, since I see injustice in the country, and I'm hurt. We were fighting then, Kadyrov was killing my brothers," said one of the protestors.

On June 18, the protestors hung at the bridge a poster quoting A. Kadyrov: "Kill so many Russians as you can."

In fact, the above phrase was really voiced by Akhmat Kadyrov. In comments on the social networks, the news about the poster was accompanied by reposts of the video record of an interview of Akhmat Kadyrov, included in the film "Coca: Die Taube aus Tschetschenien" directed by Eric Bergkraut. In the interview, Akhmat Kadyrov answers the question of whether he ever voiced the words that every Chechen should kill 150 Russians.

"No, in 1995-96, I was calling on Chechens to kill as many as they could. I did not say 100, 150, or 200. I said: 'As many as you can.' Then, I called for a jihad, and it is not a secret. However, I never mentioned the amount of 150," says Akhmat Kadyrov on the video record.

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