Dec. 20, 2010
A highly controversial Moscow-to-St. Petersburg mega road project passing through Khimki Forest received a green light from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday, Dec. 14, according to a government spokesperson. A final decision had been put on hold since August because of strong local and international opposition.
Khimki is a birch forest in Moscow Oblast that covers an area of approximately 1,000 hectares. The forest functions as a rare 'green lung' for the massive metropolitan area. The proposed highway construction will result in the loss of at least 100 hectares of green space, and trees are already being felled. According to a Bankwatch press release, the route through the forest is "highly destructive".
President Medvedev had stoked public and activist optimism earlier this summer when he ordered a halt to construction and established a commission to consider an alternative route. One proposal was for the route to pass through Vashutino, a village 150 kilometres northwest of Moscow.
According to the Moscow Times, Transportation Minister Igor Levitin explained on Dec. 14 that the cost of the alternative route would be marginally less expensive (EUR 1.21 bln compared to EURÂ 1.19 bln), but would take longer to build and require the demolition of 50 houses. It would also require the felling of 90 hectares of forest. Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov added sought to pacify detractors, claiming that 500 hectares of trees will be planted to compensate for the forest destruction at Khimki.
While the government appears determined to proceed with the Khimki plan, a number of forest defenders are demanding official confirmation from the president himself. "We want to hear it from Medvedev, who personally stopped the construction," said Khimki Organisation spokesperson Mikhail Matveev. "If he has really taken such an unpopular decision, he must announce it honestly and bear all responsibility for the consequences."
Road construction is scheduled to resume in January. "The decision is extremely positive," said Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov, one of the biggest project supporters. Activists, meanwhile, have named Gromov as a major financial beneficiary from the highway project. Others delighted with the president's approval, such as federal roads agency Rosavtodor and French construction firm Vinci, are suspected of being actively involved in lobbying for the project at high government levels. The Khimki road works, should President Medvedev, officially announce himself in favour of the plan, could well emerge as a hot-button issue political issue in 2012.
Serious physical attacks on journalists in November have been linked to their coverage of the highway. Mikhail Beketov suffered a severe beating, leaving him brain damaged and unable to speak. Four days before that, Oleg Kashin was attacked with a crowbar, leaving him in coma, but from which he later recovered, telling the media afterwards that the attack was likely linked to coverage of the Khimki highway project. At around the same time, activist Konstantin Fetisov was beaten by baseball bat until it splintered. Fetisov remains hospitalised in a coma and is not expected to survive.
The Moscow Times reported that protestors plan to gather at Triumfalnaya Ploshchad on New Year's Eve.
