Press Release, 11.04.2023

Photo: A pine wood in the city of Chelyabinsk/ Wikimedia Commons

On 3 May, the Central District Court of Chelyabinsk will start considering the claim of Andrei Talevlin, an environmentalist and a member of the Federal Bureau of the Yabloko party, to the Governor of the Chelyabinsk region on the establishment of a buffer zone around the pine wood which is located in Chelyabinsk.

A few years ago, there were heated discussions at different web-sites about the preservation of pine wood, Andrei Talevlin says. According to Talevlin, one of the necessary measures for preserve the wood is the establishment of a buffer zone. Then both the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region and the Governor preferred to ignore the results of professional research on this topic, as well as the conclusions of environmental experts.

The buffer zone around the wood existed until 2012, but then it was virtually abolished for the convenience of developers.

“Today, these developers are building residential skyscrapers in the former protected area, fully understanding the threat to the natural monument. However, profit from the natural component is more important for them,” the Andrei Talevlin says.

Talevlin recalls that in 2021 Yabloko managed to defend the area of the wood near the regional hospital. The environmentalist calls on Chelyabinsk resident to join the lawsuit (the lawsuit can be collective) and force the authorities to restore the buffer zone around the natural monument.