Around 3000 Russians held an angry protest Saturday against a controversial plan by state-run energy giant Gazprom to build a huge skyscraper in the country's former imperial capital.

Demonstrators held signs saying "Gazprom go home" and "History is worth more than money" at the rally in central Saint Petersburg, one of the largest protests in the city in recent years, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

Many voiced anger at last month's decision by city officials to approve construction of the 403-metre tower, which would loom over the historic centre of the city founded by Peter the Great in 1703.

"I defended this city from enemy bombs during the siege, and now we have to defend it from our own countrymen," said Lyudmila Ilyashova, a 78-year-old protestor and veteran of the Nazi siege of Saint Petersburg, then Leningrad, during World War II.

Prominent local historian Lev Lurye slammed the Gazprom project as a threat to the city's well-preserved centre, which dates back to pre-Soviet times and is considered a landmark of world cultural heritage by Unesco.

"Every symbol means something. And what is embodied by the Gazprom tower, which will be higher than all buildings, including cathedrals?" the historian said in a speech to the protestors.

"It will be higher than God's authority, higher than any authority. This is a monument to Mammon which will rise above our city."

Gazprom and city officials have vowed to press on despite criticism from residents, top Russian cultural figures and Unesco, which says Saint Petersburg could be removed from its world heritage list if the tower is built.

Russia's culture ministry has also objected and on Thursday it asked prosecutors to examine whether last month's official approval of the project had been illegal.

The planned skyscraper, called the Okhta Centre, would be a needle-like glass tower with a price tag of $2.4-billion (R17.7-billion).

Designed by British architect firm RMJM, the tower would have multiple facades that could change colour according to the light.

It would stand on the banks of the Large Okhta river, near the 18th-century Smolny Cathedral which is often called one of the city's most beautiful churches.

"Please, build three towers if you want, but don't do it in the historic centre," said Sergei Antonov, a 50-year-old engineer who attended the protest.

Supporters of the Okhta Centre say it would boost the city's economy by bringing employees of Gazprom — Russia's largest company — to the northern city, which has long lagged behind Moscow in terms of economic development.

Gazprom, which has close ties to top Russian officials, is the world's largest natural gas producer and enjoyed net profits of $23.3-billion last year.

Saturday's protest drew support from across the political spectrum, with activists from both the Communist Party and the liberal Yabloko party in attendance.

At the end of the demonstration, protestors raised hands to approve a resolution calling on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev — a Saint Petersburg native — to stop the tower's construction.

The resolution also called for the resignation of the city's governor Valentina Matviyenko, an ally of strongman Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and one of the chief backers of the project.

AFP

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