Press Release, 28.07.2023

Photo: The Chelyabinsk City Forest / Photo by Wikimedia Commons

The Yabloko party opposed changes in the rules of land use and development in Chelyabinsk. On 27 July, public hearings on this issue were to be held in the city, however, due to the fact that a large number of objections were received by the commission organizing the hearings, the hearings were canceled.

According to the Chairman of the Chelyabinsk branch of Yabloko, Yaroslav Shcherbakov, the changes in the rules will make it possible to build up the territory of the Chelyabinsk Forest or its protected zone. The amendments are adopted in the interests of a particular developer, but not residents, Shcherbakov notes.

“The Chelyabinsk pine forest is a natural monument, which has a very important healthcare and protective value for the residents of Chelyabinsk. This is the unique natural attraction that distinguishes our city from other cities with population over one million. We should be proud of it and protect it,” Yaroslav Shcherbakov says.

In 2011, the nature protection zone of forest was reduced by 95% – from 233.48 to 14.79 hectares.

The leader of the Chelaybinsk branch of Yabloko recalls that the decision of the Chelyabinsk Regional Court, which came into force, has not yet been executed. The decision obliged the authorities to return a land plot, illegally excluded by regional deputies for the construction of a surgical department of a hospital, into the borders of the forest zone. Legally, this is the territory of the forest, and its inclusion in another zone is illegal, Shcherbakov concludes.

Yaroslav Shcherbakov

is the Chairman of the Chelyabinsk branch of Yabloko