Supporters of the name change celebrate as the signs are unveiled

SUPPORTERS of the renaming of a roundabout in Highgate after a Russian dissident have told protesters who disrupted an unveiling ­ceremony they should value living in a country where demonstrations are allowed.

Camden officially named the junction at the bottom of Swain’s Lane as “Boris Nemtsov Place” at a special event on Monday – a move aimed at showing solidarity with Russians who do not want Vladimir Putin’s ­dicta­torial rule. Any internal opposition to the escalating war in Ukraine is cracked down upon.

Mr Nemtsov, an outspoken ­critic of Putin, was assassinated in Moscow in February 2015. The renaming was supported by 58 per cent of respondents to a council consultation.

Opponents said this survey was not fair and that residents did not have a wide enough say on the new name and how the street signs will look. Two appeared at the ceremony in rat masks, and air horns were played while ­dignitaries were trying to make speeches.

Vlada Petrova, of the Russian Democratic Society, told the New Journal: “They have opinions they can express. If they did this in Russia, they would be arrested and in genuine danger. “Here, they can behave like that and we can listen to their views and express our own. That is what we want for our own country.”

She added: “At this moment in history, it is really hard to be Russian. “We feel so, so angry about the war, about what is happening to Ukraine, and acts like this, where people are showing they remember, are beautiful. We had a glimpse of democracy and we lost it. We want a democratic Russia. We do not want to feel ashamed when we tell people where we are from. We want to do what we can to help our country – and to have this place in the town that has provided so many of us with a haven and safety is wonderful.”

Since Mr Nemtsov’s death, democracy campaigners have asked major cities to commemorate him by naming places after him. An application to rename a close by the Russian Embassy in Kensington was turned down, but a similar proposal to Camden from Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of jailed dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza and a friend of Mr Nemtsov, was supported by council leader Georgia Gould.

The sign, the consultation and the unveiling cost £5,000, with the money coming from the Town Hall’s highway budget. On Monday morning, councillors were joined by human rights barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy, former Labour communications chief Alastair Campbell and Labour MP Stephen Kinnock.

Ms Kara-Murza told a crowd of more than 100 that Mr Nemtsov’s legacy was to inspire other campaigners for democracy, including her imprisoned husband. “I have had the privilege to speak on Vladimir’s behalf on many international platforms. Every time it is heartwarming to see friends and allies – and heartbreaking to realise that I am doing it on his behalf because he has joined the ever-growing list of political prisoners,” she said, adding that the naming of the roundabout was “a powerful way to express solidarity”, and that when the Putin regime falls, Boris Nemtsov Place will be a beacon recalling the fight for democracy.

She said: “Among Boris’s defining qualities – alongside his courage, his idealism, and his commitment to principle – was his unyielding optimism. He believed Russia will one day become a modern, peaceful and democratic country. Despite everything, and even in this darkest hour, I too firmly believe that day will come.”

Opponents living locally had drawn up a petition to the renaming which was announced and decided within a month, and said the council acted with undue haste.

The Highgate Society’s chairman, William Britain, said: “Highgate already has a monument to an assassinated Russian, Alexander Litvinenko, who is in the cemetery. How many do we need? The approach has been deeply flawed. The plans for a naming ceremony were made even before the consultation had taken place. This is not how consultations are supposed to work. The short timescale means it has not been possible to get comments other than a few Society members.”

He said Mr Nemtsov was not well known compared to other anti-Putin opponents and the Society was concerned about increased street clutter. He added: “It would be much better used for a new development or street which needs a name.”

The protests were the first for a new campaign group called the Highgate Village Green Preservation Society. Dressed as a rat, society founder Helen Rapley said she had lodged Freedom of Information requests at the Town Hall and would be considering any further options, including a possible judicial review.

She added: “The consultation ended Wednesday and there was a decision supposedly made on Thursday. It was pre-arranged – which means the consultation was a sham. They had already put in to close the road, they had the sign made. This is about the council following the democratic process. They did not.”

Cllr Gould, whose request for courteous silence while Ms Kara-Murza spoke were met with horn blasts, added: “I am proud we are honouring his legacy and I hope this small act shows those risking their lives they are not alone, that in every part of the world there are commun­ities that stand with them.”

She said listening to Remembrance Day services on Sunday had underlined why the fight for freedoms never goes away.

She said: “I thought of all those in Ukraine showing courage, and the journalists, democracy campaigners and citizens in Russia risking their lives. “I thought of Vladimir Kara-Murza who knew he might be arrested when he went back to Russia after his last visit to the UK but chose to go anyway because he couldn’t ask others to risk their lives if he wasn’t prepared to do the same.”

Boris Nemtsov [Dhārmikatva]

She noted Camden had previously named a road in honour of Nelson Mandela, while the South African freedom fighter was held in prison, adding: “There are different views about whether this is the right way to show our solidarity. “This shows the strength of our democracy and our civil society that we can disagree loudly in public. “Today is about the hope that every country should have those freedoms, the right to protest without fear of imprisonment.”

The Town Hall leader said the roundabout was chosen for twin reasons – to publicise Nemtsov’s work and to send a message to Russian government staff, working at the Russian Trade Delegation in Highgate West Hill.

Cllr Gould said: “Hundreds of thousands walk past this spot to visit the Heath. “I hope that they will learn about Boris Nemtsov, what he stood for, and be inspired to take action.”