The number of sites for rallies has been halved in St. Petersburg The Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg has adopted in the final reading a law to reduce the number of parks in Hyde from eight to four, Zak.ru reports. Lenin Square near Finland Station, where before the epidemic rallies of various political parties were regularly held, will not be included in the list of sites for rallies. Also, the number of sites in the city's parks and squares will be reduced, including Udelny, Polyostrovsky and Yuzhno-Primorsky. The new law reduces the mandatory minimum number of Hyde Parks from four to two, and a maximum of 500 people will be able to gather at each of the remaining sites. City authorities will still be able to decide exactly where they will be located. One of the authors of the initiative, the deputy of United Russia, Denis Chetyrbok, explained this decision by the need to reduce budget expenses. According to him, organizing one rally costs the city about 166,000 rubles, and reducing the number of sites will make it possible to better maintain the remaining areas. The Chairman of the Legislative Assembly, Alexander Belsky, suggested that the exclusion of Lenin Square stems from the difficulties in ensuring the safety of citizens near cultural and public objects. The head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction, Pavel Dashkov, stated the need to strengthen security measures in the context of the war against Ukraine.