August 26, 2010

Russian president suspends roadbuilding over environment concerns

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday ordered the government to suspend the clearing of a forest in the Moscow region, a rare boost for Russian environmental activists and the opposition forces that have joined their campaign.

Medvedev’s order, posted on his video blog, comes hours after Russia’s main political party urged him to protect the forest.

The fate of the oak forest in Khimki has been a focus of controversy for years, but opposition to its destruction has gathered steam in recent months as trees started to be felled for construction of a major highway.

Just last weekend, a protest concert in central Moscow drew thousands of people, including Russian rock stars and leading rights activists whose own rallies are regularly broken up by police.

Facing intense public pressure, the United Russia party urged Medvedev to stop the clearing of the forest until the highway construction plans could be reassessed.

“Our people, from the governing United Russia party to united opposition groups to circles of experts, are saying this demands more analysis,” Medvedev said in the video, against a background of foliage. Building of the road will be suspended to allow “extra public and expert discussions,” Medvedev said, saying his decision was spurred by the “high public resonance” of the issue.

United Russia is chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and loyal to the Kremlin.

“This is our victory,” said Andrei Morgulyov, head of the Union of Environmental Non-governmental Organizations, told The Associated Press. “This decision would have never happened if we were not fighting for our cause.”

Morgulyov, who was among a group of activists who set up tents in the forest this summer to protect the trees, said he was confident the plans to build the highway would soon be scrapped.

The highway was planned to go from Moscow to St. Petersburg along the increasingly jammed route to the Sheremetyevo international airport. Environmentalists insist there are several options for the route to bypass the forest.

Plans to build the highway have long angered local residents. The editor of a Khimki newspaper who reported extensively on the issue was severely beaten in 2008 and left crippled. His attackers were never found.

-Associated Press

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