Greenpeace Russia has filed a legal complaint: “According to the Russian forest legislation (the Forest Code) it’s prohibited to limit public access to the Russian forests (only if the activities are dangerous for people). This work is illegal and any restrictions on public access are illegal too. Greenpeace Russia has filed a complaint to the General prosecutor’s office and is waiting for the reaction,” said Mikhail Kreindlin.
Single-person pickets and online strikes to support local activists protecting Kushtau were organised in Sterlitamak, Ufa, and other Russian cities as well as abroad. Despite protesters in Russia standing alone with their placard, mask and gloves, the police repeatedly checked documents and tried to detain individuals, citing violation of Covid-19 restrictions.
On Sunday 16 August, the worst scenario began to unfold. Fresh police forces arrived, in bigger numbers, and began detaining activists who had returned to their demolished camp to clean up the mess police and company workers had left behind the night before. Phone signals were jammed so reporters and activists could not broadcast news from the scene. Blood was spilled and peaceful people were harmed.
But the protestors stayed strong despite fierce pressure from police, security services and the industry and finally achieved a great success: the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan Mr. Khabirov visited the site and promised to stop all activities on Kushtau until a compromise is found. He promised a dialogue with people.
Greenpeace Russia believes that the final victory can only come when the government grants special protected areas status to Shinhan Kushtau and the Bashkir soda company and industry as a whole ends the use of limestone and shifts to sustainable technology for its production.
Local activists in Kushtau need your support to spread the word about their courage and hope! Your interest will put additional pressure on the local government to keep their promise. Greenpeace Russia is calling for all the activists to be released. We defend their rights to protest peacefully, for a healthy environment and civilised dialogue. What happened in Kushtau was an outburst of police violence that we can not stay silent about!