IN BRIEF

Published: July 4, 2012 (Issue # 1716)

Drowned Baby Found

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The body of a two-month-old baby was found in the waters of the Malaya Neva River on Sunday. His mother’s body was found in the same area the next day. The bodies were identified by the baby’s father, Interfax reported.

The 41-year-old woman and her baby disappeared on June 23. The woman reportedly left a baby carriage on the sidewalk and walked down to the edge of the Smolninskaya embankment with her son in her arms, from where she is believed to have jumped into the water in an apparent suicide.

Square for Tsoi

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Dmitry Meskhiyev, chairman of City Hall’s Culture Committee, said he doubted that the late Russian rock star Viktor Tsoi would have been pleased to have a small square near the city’s Kamchatka boiler room where the Kino frontman worked named after him.

“I’ve known many representatives of St. Petersburg rock culture, including Viktor Tsoi personally, and I agree that we must preserve his memory in the city. However, I think that Viktor himself would not have been happy if a small square near Kamchatka was named in his honor. I think the best decision would be to have a monument to Tsoi in the city,” Meskhiyev was quoted by Izvestiya newspaper as saying.

The city’s toponymic commission voted last Friday to name the small square near the Kamchatka boiler room where Tsoi worked in honor of the iconic rock musician. The commission has sent its recommendation to the city governor and City Hall, Rosbalt news agency reported.

The square is located on the corner of Zverinskaya Ulitsa and Lyubansky Pereulok.

Meanwhile, Tsoi fans have expressed disappointment that the commission decided to name only a square in honor of Tsoi instead of a street, and have sent an appeal to the city authorities concerning the matter.

“We want St. Petersburg residents to be able to say that they live on Ulitsa Tsoya or that Ulitsa Tsoya is in their city,” the activists wrote, Rosbalt reported.

Pregnant Runaway

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — A 14-year-old girl from a local children’s home who is nine months pregnant ran away from the institution last week, Interfax reported.

The girl has run away from the orphanage several times before, the news agency reported.

Arshavin Named Best

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The organizers of the Euro 2012 football tournament have named Andrei Arshavin, a forward for the Russian national soccer team, as the best player in goal assists in the championship, Interfax reported.

Arshavin, who returned to his native St. Petersburg FC Zenit for the past six months but will now go back to his current team, England’s Arsenal, made three goal assists during the championship. England halfback Steven Gerrard, Spain’s David Silva and Germany’s Mesut Ozil had as many assists, but played in more matches than Arshavin.

The Euro 2012 championship took place in eight cities in Ukraine and Poland from June 8 through July 1. The Spanish national team won the tournament.

More Hermitage Time

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum extended its weekend working hours beginning July 1.

The museum will stay open until 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays during the summer season. Throughout the rest of the year, the museum works from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday through Saturday and from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and days before a public holiday.

Bosch Plant Opens

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — German company Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances (BSH) opened a new plant in the St. Petersburg suburb of Strelna last week that will produce washing machines.

The plant cost 30 million euro ($3.8 million) to build, Interfax reported, and its production capacity is 350,000 washing machines a year.

The price of one washing machine will range from 14,000 to 22,000 rubles ($435-$680).

The new plant is located on the same territory as a Bosch refrigerator plant that opened in 2007.

The local plant supplies appliances to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Romania.

Salads Poison Campers

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Twenty-six children suffered acute enteric infections after eating fruit and vegetable salads at the Fakel+ children’s summer camp on June 28 and 29, Interfax reported.