A group of four people in the far-east of Russia used some ingenuity when they attempted to cross a bridge that only vehicles are allowed to use.
The Zolotoy Most, Russian for "Golden Bridge," in the port city of Vladivostok was built for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012. Since 2015 it has been closed to pedestrians for safety reasons, The Moscow Times reported.
The walkways were considered too narrow and did not meet transport and anti-terrorism regulations. There had also been several suicide attempts from the bridge which spans Golden Bay.
Since the closure, local residents have complained about not being able to use the bridge as walking across it is quicker than being stuck there in traffic.
This did not deter the unnamed four people who came up with a novel idea to try cross the bridge by walking. With a makeshift bus constructed from cardboard and painted yellow, video footage shows the quartet, with their legs sticking out the bottom, trying to navigate the traffic on the busy bridge before a security guard puts an end to their efforts.
Whether out of concern for their safety or for the breach of the rules, the guard escorts the quartet off to the side of the road. It is not known if the four were later charged.
In the footage uploaded to YouTube, a woman is heard saying: "Why are they being chased away? It's beautiful, it's art! Why don't they understand it?"
Underneath her video, one user posted the comment: "I liked the idea the guys came up with. Of course it was stupid and dangerous, but, damn...Good luck to everyone on the road!" Another wrote: "It's a long way off being art, but it's funny all the same."
One wrote: "As I understand it, these guys have raised an urgent problem, WHY they didn't make a pedestrian zone on the bridge, what kind of discrimination is this. It is the same with the new Crimean bridge," referring to the Kerch Strait Bridge that connects southern Russia with the peninsula seized by Moscow.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
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