Vyacheslav, 44, was sentenced to 15 months in prison by the Kolomna municipality court in the first instance. This sentence was upheld on appeal on 17 Feb 2022. His crime: He organized peaceful demonstrations in Moscow in 2018 to protest the construction of a garbage dump near his home.
The prosecution asked that the sentence be increased from two years to three. Don’t be happy that the court didn’t increase his sentence like the prosecutors asked. Maria Eismont, his lawyer, commented on Facebook after his verdict. Because an innocent man is currently in prison for simply wanting to see his city breathe fresh air and not the stink of rubbish.
This father-of-three, environmental activist, local entrepreneur, and father-of-3 was placed under house arrest in February 2019 without leave. He was released six months later. However, he was not released from house arrest. He was convicted in accordance with Article 212.1 Russian Criminal Code. This provides for criminal prosecution for at least three violations within six months of the law on public gatherings. Human rights defendersThis is illegal and against the Constitution.
It has been difficult to be an environmental activist in Russia. Russian authorities have always tried to hide truths about industrial pollution, environmental degradation and other health problems. Recent years have seen an increase in the brutality of activists.
Natalia Zviagina from Amnesty Internationals Moscow office laments that even the most committed eco-activists might be confronted by a disturbing series of criminal cases.
Andrei Borovikov was sentenced in April 2021 to two and a quarter years imprisonment for disseminating pornographic materials. The case was about a video clip from the German metal band Rammstein, which he had posted seven year earlier on his account at VKontakte. Human rights groups denounce the persecution against Arkhangelsk’s environmental activist. He is also the former chief of NavalnyHQ, one of the regions of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Andrei Borovikov (33 years old) was very active in the protest movement that began in 2018. It was against a project to construct a large landfill in Shies, Russia’s far north, to store capitals waste. This was a decision made by the Moscow authorities after negotiations with the local governor. Residents and environmental activists set up a tent camp at the site to stop its construction. They occupied it for more than a year. Anna Chekalova was among them. The shopkeeper from a nearby village became one of the most prominent figures in the popular struggle over the following months. Despite her arrest and 15 days in jail, and the subsequent arrests of several activists, the local mobilization never wavered. Finally, the authorities backed down.
Russia’s activism is dangerous and alarming
Most environmental disputes in Russia are based on a common cause. Local authorities don’t organize discussions about dangerous projects in a proper way. Many public debates are held in a semi-secretive and informal manner. Amnestys Zviagina says that mayors and governors negotiate with companies without telling anyone. However, the Russian Constitution states that nature protection is citizens’ duty. Russia recently took on the fight against global heating.It is one of its top priorities.
Without respecting basic human rights, it is impossible to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. Arshak Makichyan, climate activist and Arshak Makichyan are not allowed to work in Russia. Recall on TwitterVyacheslav Elorov was sent to prison on the day of his sentencing. Representative of the Fridays for Future movement, the former music student from Russia, the man who was meant to be a violinist turned down the opportunity to devote his life to fighting global warming.
Every Friday, he stands alone in Moscow with a placard. This is the only form of spontaneous protest in Russia. We had five to seven cities participating every week in the climate strike before the pandemic. Now, I am the only climate activist across Russia. Again. Makichyan was the only person to start the Fridays for Future movement when he was.
Activistism in Russia is dangerous and frightening, especially in these difficult times. It is a form of torture. They are watching you. They can do almost anything. The 27-year-old refers to the constant surveillance of the authorities and the pressure on friends and family.
Pushkin said that Russian poets are much more than poets. It’s the same with activists. But the price you pay for your activism is terrible.
Sometimes, environmental activists are also victims to physical violence. Unidentified people beat up a man in Siberia who was opposed to the expansion and use of coal mines. Zviagina says that the police never search for criminals in such cases.
Some activists flee abroad because of threats and pressure. Natalia Zubkova, a journalist covering the dangers of open-cast mining for a local news site, was also in Kemerovo. After threats and an attack on her children, she fled Georgia to join her family.
Alexandra Koroleva left Russia in 2019 to avoid arrest. The head of Ecodefense’s Kaliningrad branch, one Russia’s oldest environmental groups, was granted political refugee status by Germany. Five criminal proceedings were filed against her in her homeland for Ecodefense fines.
Many NGOs are classified in the foreign agents category
Foreign agent status is another tool used by authorities to silence any dissident voice. More than 30 environmental non-governmental organizations have been labeled foreign agent over the past ten decades. This has led to two-thirds of them having to suspend their activities. This law imposes severe restrictions on agents, such as the requirement to specify the words “foreign agent” in every publication, even the smallest, on social media, or face substantial fines of up to 500,000 rubles (about 5,700).
In 2015, the organisation Planet of Hope came under attack and was eventually closed in 2018. Nadezhda Kutpova, a lawyer by trade, fought tirelessly for years for recognition of the victims of the 1957 nuclear disaster in Mayak, near Chelyabinsk. She won more cases than 70 in Russian courts but was harassed by the Russian authorities and then was accused of industrial espionage. In 2015, she fled Russia to France where she was given political refugee status in 2016.
The Russian authorities have expanded the reach of the legislation on foreign agents since 2014, while making it more restrictive.
It first covered foreign-funded non-governmental organizations. Then, it was expanded to include media and individual funding. Two eco-activists were recently declared foreign agents by Yevgeny Simonov (founder of the international coalition Rivers without Boundaries) and Elena Soloviova (a freelance journalist from Arkhangelsk who has written extensively on the Shies protest in far north).
Despite the crackdowns, Russian activists continue their fight. I’ve been part of a lot of strikes in the streets of different Russian cities, says Liubov Samilova, a climate activist from St Petersburg. Liubov is 22 years old and has been an activist since 2003. I joined the movement to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. But, I realized that it wasn’t enough. Humanity needs to see systemic changes in the way that local and federal governments and business structures work together. According to the young woman, climate change is already evident in Russia. Russians are already suffering and the effects will only get worse. Today, however, the situation has improved. Our political freedoms are severely restricted in both our actions and our freedom of expression. I never imagined that we would reach such extreme levels of repression.
This article was translated from French.
