Press Release, 26.08.2020

Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov visited the town of Shakhty in the Rostov region on Tuesday, August 25. The visit took place on the eve of regional elections.

The day began with a visit to the park of rare birds Malinki. Nikolai Rybakov was impressed by the high level of the park and the low prices for the tickets. The park is located on the shore of the lake and is the only large park in the city. It has been functioning for four years, and today it is the main leisure area for the residents of the city and nearby settlements.

For the past 12 months the existence of the park has been under threat, since a waste processing complex or a landfill for solid domestic waste is planned to be built only 400 meters away. Such a neighbourhood can lead to the death of the Zoo inhabitants, many of whom are listed in the Red Book.

During a visit to the Malinki park, its director and lawyer handed over to Nikolai Rybakov expert opinions and documents that confirm the danger of building a landfill next to the Zoo. The head of Yabloko promised to study the documents and assist in solving the problem.

Nikolai Rybakov also talked to local residents during the visit to the city, who spoke about the everyday problems they face: poor sewerage and heating and high prices for utilities. Nikolai Rybakov wrote down the residents’ complaints and promised to help them.

During the visit, the head of Yabloko drew attention to the fact that the city, which is included in the Guinness Book of Records for the number of Olympic champions per capita, does not have its own stadium. It was closed for renovation more than ten years ago, but the work is still in its early stages.

In addition, the head of Yabloko, on his own initiative, visited School No 10, where a military hospital was located during World War II. The director of the school led an excursion in the school for the head of Yabloko and party activists.

In the second half of the day, the head of Yabloko visited the gob piles – mining waste fills extracted during the development of coal deposits and located near the city. Now these gob piles are illegally excavated so that to sprinkle roads and use in construction. Nikolai Rybakov noted that this could adversely affect the health of local residents.

In the evening, Nikolai Rybakov went to the solid waste landfill located in the Krasin mine area. Despite the fact that the gates of the landfill were open, he and the head of the regional party branch were asked to leave the landfill on the pretext that it was a private territory. In general, based on the results of his visit to the landfill, Nikolai Rybakov noted the extremely low working conditions at the landfill, whose workers had to manually sort the garbage.

During the day, Nikolai Rybakov also gave an interview to the Donday portal, and in the evening he met with the regional activists of the party and the candidates from the party in local elections. The head of Yabloko talked with the audience about political technologies and noted the high level of the candidates. Nikolai Rybakov also shared his impressions of visiting the city: “It is a very pleasant city. It is not clear to me why it leads the anti-ratings.”