Barnaul rolled out a newly paved road for Patriarch Kirill's visit. And then, when he left, it rolled it back up.

Residents of Barnaul were disappointed to learn this week that at least one of the city improvements made to welcome Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who recently visited the region, has been rolled back—quite literally. According to the news website Flashsiberia.com, city officials removed the new asphalt from a downtown road traveled by Kirill on his trip. The Barnaul diocese told the press that the asphalt had been taken from a curb elsewhere in the city and has now been restored.

Flashsiberia.com reports that residents in the neighboring Altai Republic, who also recently welcomed the Patriarch to their region, are growing worried that their newly paved roads—also part of the area's effort to welcome Kirill—might, too, disappear. Earlier this month, on September 16, Flashsiberia.com even published a photograph of a delighted Altai local kneeling to the ground and kissing the new asphalt.