Eight More Activists Detained in Northern Russia Following Landfill Protests

[Rogue Valley]

Eight More Activists Detained in Northern Russia Following Landfill Protests | The Moscow Times

Waste disposal has become a political problem for Russia’s capital, and the authorities are now looking to transfer it to the regions.

Policeman writing protester a summons for protesting without a permit.

4/11/19]
Eight activists who participated in a protest in northern Russia against Moscow’s plans to ship waste to surrounding regions were detained Wednesday, Interfax reported. Between 2,000 and 3,000 protesters gathered for Sunday’s demonstration in Arkhangelsk, calling for the region’s governor to resign over the 10.5 billion ruble ($160.7 million) Shiyes landfill's construction, media outlets reported. Over the past few months, thousands of protesters across 26 regions have staged protests against the capital’s plans to solve its trash crisis by shipping its waste to the regions.

Three of the detainees were released without charges, while five are facing charges for participating in Sunday’s unauthorized rally. Authorities had detained 10 protesters on Monday and five more on Tuesday, the Ekho Moskvy radio station reported. Around 3,000 demonstrators in the neighboring Komi republic also demanded the resignation of their governor over the Shiyes landfill. Earlier this week, an Arkhangelsk court fined two journalists more than 215,000 rubles for covering the protest, the Znak.com news website reported.

The article below will explain in some detail what the hubbub is all about. Be aware that in Russia the landfills are lethal to the environment and people living within 5 kilometers due to toxic landfill gas (LFG).

Landfills are a huge political hot-potato in Russia. However, it seems the official fix is in and whoever needed to be bribed (the regional governors) has been handsomely compensated by Moscow.

Related: Moscow is solving its waste problem – by sending it to Russia's regions

 

[Rogue Valley]

A VICTORY for residents in #Arkhangelsk. After nearly two weeks of demonstrations, activists have won the right to hold a referendum on the construction of a new landfill site.
The awful smell and dangerous chemicals stemming from the site were rightly of big concern for locals.