Putin: Russia Needs Controversial Highway

VOA News
August 27, 2010 at 11:55 am

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the country needs a controversial highway from Moscow to St. Petersburg, which supporters say is necessary for economic development.

Mr. Putin spoke to reporters Friday, one day after President Dmitri Medvedev ordered the government to suspend work on the project. But the prime minister denied there was any substantial disagreement between the two leaders.

He said that he had spoken with Mr. Medvedev about the project, and that the president was right to stop work on the roadway because of environmental concerns.

Mr. Putin also warned that the environmental concerns should not be politicized.

Work on the highway will not resume until after a public hearing is held.

Critics say the project threatens the ecology of the Khimki forest, just outside the capital. The country’s United Russia Party also had urged the president to suspend the project.

On Sunday, several thousand people turned out for an unauthorized protest concert headlined by Soviet-era rock star-turned-Kremlin critic Yuri Shevchuk.

Last month, hundreds of protesters staged a rare and violent protest against the planned roadway. Protesters threw rocks, bottles and smoke bombs at the town hall in Khimki, and then dispersed before police could make arrests. Some information in this story was provided by AFP and Bloomberg.