Moscow to Rename US Embassy Street Address to 'American Dead End' (Russian TV News)

This will be a very symbolic move in the tit-for-tat exchange.

The following clip taken from Russian nightly news gives the details of the latest tit-for-tat exchange.

Transcript:

Anchor:

North-American Dead End, #1. This proposal for the U.S. Embassy postal address in Moscow will be considered by the Moscow Council.

The name was suggested by the Сhairman of the Committee for Culture and Sports, LDPR Deputy, Mikhail Degtyarev. He believes that Bolshoy Devyatinsky Lane, 8, the official address of the U.S. Embassy, is no longer a good fit.

Firstly, the relationship is only getting worse, secondly, the street portion before the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C. is to be renamed into Nemtsov Plaza, as a gesture of commitment to the ideals of democracy. It was expected, since the LDPR leader previously said that the action of the Washington D.C. council was an attempt to mess with Moscow.

The question is if Moscow's Council will agree to consider the reciprocated renaming. The meeting is scheduled for this month.

Anastasia Efimova will tell us what we can expect of this.

- Good evening, Anastasia.

- Hello.

- Why would we call it a "dead end"?

- First of all, there is no through traffic there. But obviously, the idea behind this initiative is bigger. This decision has an alternative since "dead end" could be translated into English in different ways. A new address of the U.S. Embassy may be registered as Dead End. This is a widespread variation. It even has a respective street sign. But the deputy who initiated renaming prefers a more refined linguistic variation.

Mikhail Degtyarev, LDPR Deputy: "It would be symbolic and even humorous. The Council accepted my initiative as one proposed by a State Duma Deputy. The question of renaming will be considered in February by a special commission. I hope that the anonymous dead end near the Embassy will find its name. North American Cul de Sac, Building №1, US Embassy in Russia.”

Despite the several choices, the U.S. Embassy did not appraise the humor.

Maria Olson, U.S. Embassy Spokesperson: "Everyone can talk about dead ends. We, the American diplomats, prefer to seek ways, towards more constructive relationships between the U.S. and Russia."

The U.S. route to more constructive relationships is very peculiar. This is the route of sanctions, accusations, provocations, like renaming the square in front of the Russian Embassy to Nemtsov Plaza. If this is the path to advancement, it is very intricate, I must admit.

Kris Roman, Leader of Euro-Rus: "This is a provocation, the first step, the intervention. We all know that Russia is like a bear, it's a very quiet animal, if we don't mess with it. No one messes with it, but if we attack the bear, or poke the bear, the bear will get angry, and America seems to want this reaction."

Anyway, there won't be a tit-for-tat or a rough response which the American Congress wanted. This is the difference of political stances. No one is going to change the name of the street - it is complicated, long, and expensive. The deputy suggests finding a name for a nameless dead end in direct proximity to the U.S. Embassy.

Alexander Vaskin, Moscow historian: "This is costly if a street, which is renamed, passes through a large residential quarter with many residential buildings. This is a dead end. This change won't affect anyone important. On the contrary, it will become a tourist attraction of this Moscow district."

There are no residential buildings on this street, which means it does not require any documentation changes, and no budget expenses. For the Embassy the change is symbolic, the Embassy facade faces Devyatinsky lane, and the gable facade faces the dead end. In case of renaming, the diplomats will be allowed to save the previous address. Anyway, this option won't make them happy.

Dan Kovalik, author of the book "The Plot to Scapegoat Russia": "The US tends to believe that other countries do not have the right to protect themselves, or to retaliate to the actions of the US. And the US believes that other countries, such as Russia, have to put up with it and turn the other cheek. Obviously, the world does not want to live like this anymore. All countries deserve equal respect, but the US is not ready to accept it."

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The proposal to rename the street has only been accepted for consideration so far, but has inspired a series of caricatures. For instance, my address is neither a block nor a street, my address today is a dead end. As witty online comments remind Washington: one can get out of the dead end. That the way out of the situation is normally where the problem emerged.