Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- St. Petersburg residents clashed with OAO Gazprom security guards and police during a public hearing over the Russian gas exporter’s plan to erect Europe’s tallest skyscraper in the former imperial capital.

Half a dozen of the hundreds of people who attended the meeting today were forcibly removed amid chants of “shame on Gazprom” for seeking to change the city’s zoning laws so work on the 400-meter tower can continue.

“You’re creating an atmosphere of civil war here in St. Petersburg,” said one of the protesters, Gennady Turetsky. “Look at all these security measures, all the people being taken away.”

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said last week that St. Petersburg’s 306- year-old historic city center may be stricken from its World Heritage List if state-run Gazprom’s Okhta Center is built. Designed by U.K.-based RMJM Architects, the complex would serve as the headquarters of Gazprom’s oil unit, Gazprom Neft, and include a concert hall, art museum, hotel and a business center.

Vladimir Gronsky, an Okhta official who addressed the crowd today, said after the event that he welcomes protests because they show public interest in the project.

The skyscraper will attract “big international companies” and boost local tax revenue, Gronsky said. Gazprom Neft has paid more than 65 billion rubles ($2.04 billion) in city taxes since relocating to St. Petersburg from Moscow more than three years ago, Gronsky said.

The city government last year backed out of a plan to fund 49 percent of the project, citing the country’s worst financial crisis in more than a decade. Gazprom is seeking an exemption from a city rule that prohibits buildings taller than 48 meters, though that restriction was increased to 100 meters in the area where the Okhta Center is located.

Gazprom chose Arabtec Holding PJSC, the biggest builder in the United Arab Emirates, to build Okhta Center last year, though no contract has been signed. Arabtec, which is building Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest skyscraper, has said the Okhta project may cost $3 billion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anastasia Ustinova in St. Petersburg at austinova@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 1, 2009 09:19 EDT