Online voters decided to name Russia’s multibillion-dollar bridge between the annexed Crimean peninsula and mainland Russia the “Crimean Bridge” Monday, leading the other candidates by a wide margin.
Russia launched construction for the 19-kilometer $4-billion road and rail bridge after annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. A company owned by President Vladimir Putin’s judo partner Arkady Rotenberg won the contract for the project, which is due to be completed by December 2018.
Before the vote, the unnamed bridge had been alternatively referred to as the “Kerch Strait Bridge” and “Crimean Bridge.”
The online vote to give it an official name opened on Nov. 16. A month later, the results indicate that “Crimean Bridge” finished well ahead of its alternatives.
Around 380,000 registered users took part in the vote, with 64 percent casting their ballots for the final name, Russia’s Transportation Ministry said on its website.
“Big Russian Bridge,” “Black Sea Bridge” and “Unity Bridge” led the write-in options.
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