MOSCOW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has put on hold the relocation of a medical academy from central St. Petersburg, Public Chamber member Alexander Kanshin said on Tuesday.

The academy was to be moved to Sestroretsk, a St. Petersburg suburb.

“Today the deputy defense minister said that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made the decision to suspend the relocation of the Kirov Military-Medical Academy from St. Petersburg,” Kanshin said.

The Defense Ministry decided to move the academy in May 2010. The opponents said they were concerned the academy building and plot of land in central St. Petersburg would be used for commercial purposes.

The academy was founded in 1798 under a decree by Emperor Pavel I.

Last Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin sacked Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and appointed Sergei Shoigu as his replacement.

Russia's Defense Ministry has recently become embroiled in scandal over alleged real estate scams involving nearly $100 million.