Press Release, 2.09.2020

Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov sent an appeal to Igor Krasnov, Public Prosecutor General, Dmitry Kobylkin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and Governor of the Voronezh Region Alexander Gusev in connection with illegal cutting of trees in the Severny Les (Northern Forest) forest park in Voronezh.

Nikolai Rybakov personally visited the Severny Les (Northern Forest) forest park during his visit to Voronezh on August 31. On the threashold of his visit, August 30, there was a clash here between local residents and unidentified persons who set up a fence around the park.

In his address, the head of Yabloko notes that following the results of the visit, he concluded that illegal activities targeted at destruction of the forest had been carried out in the park over the past months, and the regime of special protection zone of the natural park had been violated. In particular, it is highly likely that holes up to 10 сm deep had been drilled in healthy pine trees for at least 12 months, and chemicals were injected into the healthy trees through these holes. This led to the death of many trees. In addition, taking advantage of such a specially organised destruction of trees, sanitary felling began in the park in August 2020, which actually turned into clear felling of trees and the destruction of a significant part of the forest. However, many dry trees have not been cut down.

In view of these facts, the Yabloko Chairman called on the Public Prosecutor General, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Governor of the Voronezh Region, to check, within their competence, the compliance with the special protection natural zone regime for the park, attract forestry specialists to adopt a plan to save the forest, take measures to identify the persons who carried out the destruction of healthy pine trees, and a check on the fact of cutting down pine trees in August 2020. In addition, Nikolai Rybakov demanded an inspection on the use of weapons during a clash between residents of the city and unidentified persons who installed a fence around the park on August 30, 2020.

The head of Yabloko also asked to involve representatives of local initiative groups, in particular Alexei Shlyaev, to the implementation of the above measures to save the park. “Taking into account the wide public resonance caused by the attempts to destroy the park, I propose to the Ministry of Natural Resources to provide methodological assistance to regional authorities in this situation,” Nikolai Rybakov emphasised.