Penza, 2 June 2018. PenzaNews. About 30 people participated in protest against de-sovietisation and in support of the monument Glory to Heroes, which was held in front of the Penza administration in the evening on Friday, June 1.

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Initially, the city authorities did not endorse the conduct of the protest event next to the city hall but the court found the refusal illegal.

Komsomol members, representatives of the officially unregistered United Communist Party and the public organization Children of War as well as concerned citizens joined the campaign organized by the movement Left Front.

The protesters were holding banners reading "Stop spitting in our history! Leave the monument to heroes in Penza in the Sovetskaya square!", "Authorities, take care of the repair of monuments!", "Belozertsev, hands off the stele Glory to Heroes!", "Lenin square – in Ulyanovsk, Sovetskaya square – in Penza!", "Authorities, stop bringing us back to the pre-revolutionary Russia!", etc.

Immediately after the protest the head of the Penza department for crime prevention and work with public associations and religious organizations, Oleg Vikulov, turned to those present.

First, the official demanded that no more than 20 people remained next to the monument to the Soviet Constitution as it was stated in the application of the organizers, and after the participants began to chant "You will destroy the memory and give rise to fascism!" he said the protesters were breaking the rules.

"You must stand with banners in silence – without shouts, chanting slogans and so on. Otherwise, this turns in a rally," Oleg Vikulov said.

In response, Left Front coordinator in the Volga Federal District Sergei Padalkin reminded that after the incident during the celebrations on the occasion of Victory Day two statements against the head of the city administration had already been submitted to the police – for taking away the flag of the movement from activist Yulia Alyonkina, which he had not returned until then.

As a result, participants of the protest continued to shout out different slogans and the city hall official made remarks from time to time.

After the protest, some of the participants headed by first secretary of the city committee of the Communist Party Yuliana Kotova proceeded to the building of the Penza administration where they handed in a petition-resolution to mayor Victor Kuvaytsev.

"We urge the Penza authorities to stop, to give up the idea of renaming of various kinds, the transfer of objects of Soviet history! In the first place, we demand that the issue of transferring the monument Glory to Heroes should be removed from the agenda and that the authorities should execute their direct duties – that is take care of cultural facilities in the Penza region and repair them," the text runs.