Press Release, 3.03.2017

According to Mikhail Amosov, leader of the St. Petersburg YABLOKO and MP in St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly from the YABLOKO faction, election of Patriarch Kirill honorary citizen of St. Petersburg can be regarded as a kind of compensation to the church for preservation of the museum in St. Isaac’s Cathedral. The residents of the city loudly protested when a the city authorities announced their decision to transfer the cathedral to the church, which also envisaged closure of the famous museum of the St.Isaac’s. Several mass-scale rallies against the decision were held in the city, the largest rally gathered about 5,000 people.

“Either St.Isaac’s Cathedral is transferred to the church Patriarch or Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church becomes honorary citizen of St.Petersburg. There is only one option. Both the options are impossible,” Amosov said in his speech at the meeting of the Regional Council of St. Petersburg YABLOKO on 2 March. He expressed his hope that the city government may employ the mechanism of such “honorable compensation” so that to relieve the tension in the city.

Nomination of candidates for the honorary citizens of the city ended on 1 March. Ex-Govenor Valentina Matvyenko and Patriarch Kirill are leaders of the race. St. Petersburg YABLOKO unanimously supported the candidacy of Alexander Sokurov, world famous film director and city preservation activist, who had been nominated for the honorary citizens of St. Petersburg by the organisation helping the homeless Nochlezhka (“Homeless Shelter”).