Notices warning residents to stay away from their windows and balconies during Russia's Victory Day parade on May 9 have appeared in apartment buildings in western Moscow, news reports said Thursday, though there remained some confusion as to who posted them.
The notices in the Kuntsevo district along Rublyovskoye Shosse asked residents to “be vigilant, don't look out of apartments' windows, stay away from balconies [and] don't shine laser pointers to avoid the consequences … of the law” according to photos of the notice posted online.
The warnings were prompted by the fact that close to May 9 “motorcades of foreign leaders will be traveling along Rublyovskoye Shosse,” which is the main route from top officials' suburban residencies to the Kremlin
But although the notices were signed by the Kuntsevo district branch of the Interior Ministry and a phone number was provided, accounts diverged on whether the local police were behind the notices.
Russia's The Village quoted an unidentified Interior Ministry official at the Kuntsevo branch as owning up to the notices.
“An airplane may fly low, [window] glass may shatter in the apartment,” the official was quoted as saying. “If you stand near a window, you could be injured.”
But Russian New Service quoted an unidentified Kuntsevo police official as saying that the notices were put up by somebody else and should be disregarded.
“Tear down that notice,” the official was quoted as saying. “Who can prohibit you from looking out your windows? The dispatch unit did not paste that.”
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