Mobs attacked offices of two leading Russian Telecom operators in Chechnya, pelting them with eggs in protest against alleged fraud at an online voting contest for best national landmark where a Chechen mosque was denied victory.
Attacks on Friday targeted the offices Megafon and Beeline, two of Russia’s “big three” of cell phone operators, in Grozny, the capital of the North Caucasus republic.
Footage of at least one attack was available on YouTube, the video showing dozens of young men energetically throwing eggs and other objects at a closed office building, while others film them on their own cellphones.
The scandal broke out when Grozny’s Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque narrowly lost the second round of the Russia 10 contest, aimed to select Russia’s best unknown landmarks in order to give a boost to domestic tourism and “geopatriotism,” as the organizers attested it.
Kadyrov demands money back for text messages with uncounted votes on Friday and says he is pulling the mosque from the third and final round of the contest, which kicks off on Sunday.
