Pskov residents erect monument to Putin

A monument to Russian president Vladimir Putin was unveiled on Thursday in the square in front of the Pskov region children's hospital. The bust of the head of state was made on the initiative of the public organisation 'Homeland against Mikhailov', which was set up by opponents of the mayor of Pskov region, Yevgeny Mikhailov. Money for the monument was collected by residents of the town. The inscription on its base reads: "To Vladimir Putin, from the grateful people of Pskov". After the unveiling of the monument in the Pskov administration, it was announced that the bust had been installed illegally. The local authorities did not give the head of the regional social institution "Citizens' Union of Pskovshina - Support Block for the President of the Russian Federation", Andrey Lisin, who requested a plot of land for the monument, permission for its installation. What steps the Pskov administration intends to take in connection with the unsanctioned unveiling of the monument is so far unknown.