IN BRIEF

Published: August 1, 2012 (Issue # 1720)

Fountains Switched Off

 ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — A number of the city’s fountains were turned off in St. Petersburg during Russia’s Navy Day celebrations on July 29 and will not work on Paratroopers’ Day on Aug. 2.

Among the fountains affected are those in the Alexandrovsky Park and those on Moskovskaya Ploshchad and Ploshchad Lenina.

Vodokanal, the company responsible for the city’s water supply, said it decided to take the measures due to the fact that local fountains are often misused and damaged during these celebrations.

On those days, naval sailors and paratroopers (both active and retired) often take dips in city fountains, not always in a sober state.

Vodokanal also warned that swimming in fountains is unhygienic, as the water used in them is part of a closed cycle and it is not changed for several weeks.

Dog Killer Fined

 ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — A local court ordered a military officer to pay a 30,000-ruble ($930) fine for shooting seven service dogs in order to avoid spending money on feeding them.

Yevgeny Mityashin, the former chief officer of a military unit, was found guilty of shooting seven dogs, six of which died and one of which was seriously wounded, the press service of the Main Military Investigation Department said last week, Interfax reported.

Mityashin was found guilty of the cruel treatment of animals leading to their death and injury.

Various breeds of service dogs lived on the territory of the military unit and were used to guard the area. For four months a female employee had reportedly fed the dogs out of her own pocket, and Mityashin was informed of this.

In order to avoid addressing the problem of the dogs’ food supply, Mityashin shot the dogs on the night of Aug. 27, 2011 after consuming alcohol.

Street May Turn Musical

 ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — One of the city’s streets may be named after the St. Petersburg singer Eduard Khil, who died in the city in June.

The idea of naming the street after Khil came from the leader of St. Petersburg’s Yabloko faction, Grigory Yavlinsky, and Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Vyacheslav Makarov. City Governor Georgy Poltavchenko supported the idea.

Poltavchenko said that at the next meeting of the street-naming commission, scheduled for the end of the year, they would consider naming one of the city’s new streets in the Vyborgsky district after Khil.

Khil, died in St. Petersburg on June 4. He was 77 years old.