otkaznik

St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko has asked the federal government to strip the city, except for its center, of its historical status.

Such a ruling would allow more commercial construction like the recently scrapped Gazprom skyscraper, whose planned site infuriated residents worried about preserving the city's historic skyline.

Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev has promised Matviyenko that the ruling to change the city's status would be issued, Matviyenko told a news conference Friday, Interfax reported.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/st-pete-seeks-to-lose-historic-status/429994.html