Astrakhan Region holds rally in memory of young man who perished on the bridge

Today, in the Astrakhan Region, on the bridge over the Kizan River, connecting the villages of Karagan and Tataro-Bashmakovka, people held a rally and a solo picket in memory of Maxim Medvedev, a Karagan villager, who perished on the bridge.

The bridge is the only means to cross the Kizan River. The 18-year-old Maksim Medvedev crashed himself at night on April 22, when he fell down into the cavity that formed on the bridge two weeks before the accident. The funeral of Maxim Medvedev took place on Monday, April 23.

The rally was attended by 25 people. Locals say that the tragedy became possible because of negligence of local authorities. According to the protesters, by the rally they tried to attract public attention to the tragic death.

A solo picket was held by the civil activist Boris Doliev, who held a poster in his hand: "Local power is to blame for Maxim Medvedev's death!" Policemen tried to pull the poster out of the picketer's hands and prevented his free movement. When Boris unfolded the poster, policemen surrounded him by a tight ring, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from the venue.

The bridge over the Kizan River was closed for repairs about two years ago. "During all this time it was not repaired," said local resident Elena Novikova.

Residents of Karagan and Tataro-Bashmakovka have to use the bridge every day. "There is no illumination on the bridge; and the dangerous places are not fenced off," said Zukhra Rasimova, one of the protesters.

The accident on the bridge has attracted attention of the Prosecutor's Office of the Astrakhan Region, which decided to check the circumstances of Maxim Medvedev's death. In particular, the Office will check the legality of actions and decisions of the officials of the local self-government and power bodies of the Astrakhan Region in operating the bridge.

Also, the criminal and legal assessment of officials' actions will be given by the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) for the Astrakhan Region.