Press Release, photos, video, October 18, 2013
On October 18, YABLOKO and Sochi’s movement “Law and Order” (Zakon i poryadok) conducted pickets outside the White House against the placing of Olympic construction waste in Akhshtirsky gallop which is situated in the karst block above the field of fresh waters. “Law and Order” leader Roman Shikarev, adviser of YABLOKO’s Chair Sofya Rusova and municipal deputy Grigory Semyonov participated in the action.

The Akhshtirsky gallop is a natural reserve of the regional significance. The decision to use it for placing the Olympic construction waste was taken at Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kozak’s meeting on July 12, 2013. The document is posed on the website of the Environmental Watch on North Caucuses as it wasn’t published officially.

“The Supreme Court will review the case against Kozak’s decision on October 22”, said Roman Shikarev. He stated that the goal of the action was to draw the authorities’ attention to what’s going on with the environmental situation in Sochi. “Sochi is the only city that holds the fort and doesn’t allow to destroy the natural reserves so as to let the land go to someone’s business”, he explained.

The police checked the activists’ documents and advised not stay on for a long time.

The Akhshtirsky gallop is already used as a dump. This leads to further pollution of the inner waters of the largest River Mzimta which flows into the Black Sea. Roman Shikarev compared the gallop with a colander:”Everything that gets there leaks into the river and then gets to the water supply system”. Earlier Head of the Krasnodar branch of YABLOKO Andrei Rudomakha told about the danger of the damp in the gallop. He believes it may lead to a serious environmental problem in Sochi.