Protests against the construction of a landfill at Shies station were environmentalist protests in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, Vologda Oblast and the Komi Republic, which began in 2018 to stop the construction of a landfill and complete waste reform in Russia . The landfill was intended for storing solid household and industrial waste exported from Moscow and other regions of Russia, since its construction was planned in swampy areas and posed a danger to residents of the region, as it could lead to contamination of surface and underground water sources. The protests ultimately ended when the government accepted the demands of the protestors.[1][2][3][4][5]
The emblem of the environmental movement “ Pomorye is not a trash heap ”, which organized protests in the Arkhangelsk Oblast
The protests started in July 2018 as an action by local residents, and by 2019 the protest had become the center of “anti-garbage” protests in Russia. In the second quarter of 2019, 34 of 56 environmental protests in the country were held in support of the Shies movement . The protests in support of the Shies movement took place in 30 regions of Russia.[1][2][6][3] In the Arkhangelsk Oblast, 95% of citizens voiced against the construction of a landfill, and 25% stated that they were even ready to participate in uncoordinated protests; residents submitted over 60 thousand signatures to the presidential administration demanding that their opinion should be considered and construction should be stopped.[7][8] In 2019, the protest received coverage in the international media.[9][10][11]
According to expert Andrei Churakov, the exclusion of the facility at Shies station from the list of priority investment projects was of a formal nature. To complete the Moscow landfill project, it was necessary to exclude it from the general plan of Urdoma, into which it was included without taking into account the opinions of local residents and local authorities, and begin to restore the disturbed territory and cut down forests at the construction site. The story with Shies itself, according to Churakov, "was an attempt to bring waste from the capital’s renovation to the Shies station waste from Moscow five-story buildings, and the investment project later became only a cover for this story"[15]
In December 2021, a crowdfunding project was launched to raise funds for the publication of a book about the protest in Shies. It will include more than 100 photographs by nine authors and memories of people who took part in the protest[16]
In 2018, construction of paved areas began on the territory of the Shies station with the help of Russian Railways . The first stage of construction began with the cutting down a hector of nearby forests.
In June of the same year, local residents accidentally discovered the construction site and equipment when two hunters accidentally came to the site.[17] And at the end of the year, activists placed the first trailer near the construction site for round-the-clock duty, to which people came from nearby settlements and even from the entire region. Gradually, the protest camp grew and new posts appeared.[18]
On December 2, 2018, rallies were held throughout the region, which, according to the organizers, gathered 30 thousand participants (including 5 thousand people in Arkhangelsk and 10 thousand people in Severodvinsk ). According to regional authorities, the rallies attracted 8 thousand people. Former senator from the Arkhangelsk Oblast, Konstantin Dobrynin also spoke out about the rallies: “30,000 people took to the streets of Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk and other cities and towns in the region. That's a lot. 30,000 people for the Arkhangelsk Oblast is like 700,000 for Moscow”.[19]
A protest against construction of Landfill in Shies
On February 3, 2019, a rally in Arkhangelsk attracted about 2 thousand people. The authorities, refused to hold the event in the city center, so the rally took place on the outskirts of the city on foot in 20-degree frost.[20]
On February 24, a rally in Severodvinsk attracted more than 10 thousand people. A few hours before the start of the rally, volunteer Yulia Chapulina, who was counting the number of participants, was detained by the authorities.[21]
On March 27, 2019, the Arkhangelsk Oblast Assembly of Deputies voted against holding a referendum on banning the import of garbage from other regions into the territory of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. A clash occurred between environmental activists on duty and workers from a garbage construction site. Subsequently, there were regular clashes between Shies’s defenders and employees of private security company. The activists tried to prevent the unloading of fuel and building materials, and later reported beatings and injuries.[22]
A gathering in Snow against Landfills
In April, two wooden bridges that were used to carry equipment were damaged by protestors.[23]
A sit-in the city centre of Arkhangelsk
On April 7, 2019, unauthorized protests took place in Arkhangelsk and the start of a sit-in was announced. The authorities detained protesters en masse.[24]
On May 19, a rally and concert in support of Shies was held at Teryokhin Square in Arkhangelsk. At the same time other mass events were also being held in Arkhangelsk on behalf of the administration. According to estimates by activists of the “Pomorie is not a trash heap!” movement, 8 thousand people came to the rally.[27]
On June 16, a rally was held at the Stroitel cultural center in Severodvinsk in support of activists at Shies station. At the same time, the city administration announced the celebration of the birthday of the Cultural Park. Despite this, the rally attracted 4 thousand people. After the rally, activists marched to Victory Square.[28]
On July 26, 2019, the “Day of Solidarity with Shies” event was held, during which residents of the region hung red cloth outside their windows. Governor Igor Orlov, who had previously called the protesters “shitholes,” later commented on this event: he decided that people simply hung out their washed clothes to dry.
On August 26, 2019, Levada Center published a survey conducted among residents of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. According to its results, 95% of respondents opposed the construction of a landfill in Shies, only 3% expressed agreement.[30]
On September 22, 2019, an anti-garbage rally was held in Solombala on Teryokhin Square, which was attended by two thousand people.[31]
On September 30, a recording of a meeting was published on the website of the Arkhangelsk Oblast Assembly of Deputies, in which a deputy from the Libertarian Party of Russia demanded the return of a plot of land due to the expiration of the lease as the agreement on the use of the forest area in the area of the Shies station which was concluded in 2018 had expired.[32]
On November 4, 2019, a 12-hour online Civil Solidarity Marathon was held in support of Shies.
On December 8, 2019, more than 10,000 people came to a rally in Kotlas against the construction of a landfill in Shies.[33]
On January 9, 2020, the Arkhangelsk Regional Arbitration Court, at the request of the Urdoma administration, declared the construction of the Shies landfill as illegal.[34]
On October 26, 2020, the 14th Arbitration Court of Appeal confirmed the decision of previous courts to demolish the erected landfill buildings in the area.
On November 6, the initiative group “Clean Urdoma” came to the camp on Shies and began to celebrate the “victory” in the struggle of activists against the construction of a landfill in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, after which the protesters began the systematic closure of posts.[35]
On December 2, 2020, the Arbitration Court of the Northwestern Federal District (St. Petersburg ) accepted the cassation appeal of Technopark LLC dated November 23, 2020 suspending the demolition of the landfill for up to two months.
On January 9, 2021, the initiative group “Clean Urdoma” published a statement in the community “We are against the landfill in the Lensky district” on VKontakte, in which it declared the completion of protest campaign against the construction of a landfill. At the same time, the activists who remain to live in the tent camps were proposed to be considered unrelated to continue the fight against the construction of the landfill, since they allegedly left the “Stop-Shies” coalition.[36]
On January 12, 2021, the management of Technopark LLC stated that activists at Shies station were hindering reclamation efforts by refusing to move the tent camp from a land plot of 15 hectares. The activists stated that it was too early to leave and they were going to continue to document violations committed by the contractor.[37]
Flag saying: "Pomorie is not a garbage dump" near the landfill
On February 4, 2021, the "Leningrad" activist camp at Shies station was destroyed by the troops of National Guard of Russia, tents and other property, as well as food supplies were destroyed and buried in a deep pit dug by an excavator.[38][39]
Also on February 4, 2021, in St. Petersburg, the Arbitration Court of the Northwestern Federal District considered the appeal of the Technopark company against the decision to demolish landfill buildings, which was previously made by the Arbitration Court of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, and upheld the decision of demolishing the landfill.[40]
On the morning of February 18, 2021, the police blocked all roads tens of kilometers to the Shies station from Madmas and Urdoma, and then police vehicles arrived. The activists who were at the reserve post “Banya” were detained, and were taken to Yarensk for interrogation. During the same day, the posts "Bonfire" and "Fortress", were destroyed, and the post "Bath" was looted and burned.[41][42][43] The activists were accused of unauthorized occupation of the area, and a trial was scheduled for early March.[44]
Initially, regional authorities sought to hush up this news story, but almost immediately it became clear that this strategy was ineffective. Moreover, in many ways, it was the silence of the authorities that caused particular discontent among people and helped spread information online.
The first reaction of the governor of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, Igor Orlov, was ambiguous. On April 5, at a public meeting with representatives of veterans and trade union organizations, he stated: “I have lived here [in the Arkhangelsk Oblast for more than twenty years. My children were born here. And every scoundrel, which no one here can even call, is trying to call me something incomprehensible: either a Kaliningrader or a Ukrainian. I don’t care about their ratings and votes, what they think about me.” This is how he responded to the statement of one of the meeting participants that 96% of residents of the Arkhangelsk Oblast are “against all these government decisions on Shies and all landfills.”[51] This caused a huge wave of negativity. After the statement, a huge number of memes appeared on the network, and at rallies people ridiculed and criticized Orlov in every possible way for the above words.
The reaction of the federal authorities appeared later; on May 16, Vladimir Putin said at the ONF media forum: “Moscow cannot be overgrown with garbage, it is a city of ten million. But there is no need to create problems in other regions either. In any case, it should be in dialogue with the people who live there. I will definitely talk with the head of the region and Sergey Sobyanin. They cannot decide this privately, without asking the opinions of people who live in close proximity to these test sites"[52]
At the beginning of 2020, the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Komi, General Viktor Polovnikov, who was previously responsible for the police escort of fuel for the Shies testing site and the suppression of protests by environmental activists, was arrested on suspicion of taking a bribe.[53]
Governor of the Arkhangelsk region Igor Orlov[54] and Head of Komi Sergey Gaplikov[55] simultaneously resigned and left their posts in 2020.
New Acting Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region, Alexander Tsybulsky[56] and Acting Head of Komi Vladimir Uyba,[57] appointed in April 2020, opposed the landfill project at Shies.
On April 29, 2020, in an interview with the media, Alexander Tsybulsky promised to close the Shies project.[58]
On June 2, 2020, by order of the Government of the Arkhangelsk Oblast “On termination of the agreement on support of an investment project between the Government of the Arkhangelsk Oblast and the limited liability company Technopark dated May 20, 2019 dated June 2, 2020 No. 217-rp” the agreement between the Government of Arkhangelsk was terminated region and Technopark LLC. Upon termination of the agreement, information about the investment project of the EcoTechnoPark Shies company must be excluded from the register of priority investment projects in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. According to a court order, reclamation of a damaged piece of land would also be carried out at Shies station.[59]
Руки прочь от Шиеса!!! on YouTube // Евгений Тропин. 29 апреля 2019. (Песня про наш дом. Про нашу Тайгу. Автор песни Павел Картошкин. Песня «Свалка в нашей невинной тайге»)
Шиес наш! on YouTube // Андрей Чекмарёв. 26 сентября 2019 г.] (Евгений Кокшаров, выступление в Коряжме)
Шиес — Время Рассвета on YouTube // Юрий Полянский. 5 декабря 2019. (Песня в поддержку жителей Севера, страны, за чистую и разумную экологию. За отмену мегасвалки на Шиесе и в других регионах страны. Стоп-Шиес! Stop Shies!)
Arkhangelsk is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over 40 kilometres (25 mi) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval and early modern Russia until 1703, when it was replaced by the newly founded Saint Petersburg.
Koryazhma is a town in the southeast of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vychegda River 30 kilometers (19 mi) east of Kotlas, at the confluence of the Bolshaya Koryazhemka River. Population: 39,641 (2010 Census); 42,811 (2002 Census); 41,795 (1989 Soviet census).
Nyonoksa, also Nenoksa, is a rural locality under the administrative jurisdiction of Severodvinsk Town of Oblast Significance, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It is located at the coast of the Dvina Bay of the White Sea 19 miles (31 km) northwest of the city of Severodvinsk. The Nyonoksa railway station is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from Nyonoksa at the mostly military village of Sopka along the Northern Railway line from Severodvinsk. Nyonoksa is accessible by land vehicles only during the winter months when the nearby swampland freezes.
Yemtsa is a rural locality in Plesetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located 42 kilometers (26 mi) north of Plesetsk and 172 kilometers (107 mi) south of Arkhangelsk. Within the framework of municipal divisions, it serves as the administrative center of Yemtsovskoye Rural Settlement, one of the thirteen rural settlements in the district. Population: 1,067 (2010 Census); 1,498 (2002 Census); 2,266 (1989 Soviet census)..
Kotlas is a town in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers. Population: 60,562 (2010 Census); 60,647 (2002 Census); 68,021 (1989 Soviet census).
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Arkhangelsk Oblast is divided into six cities and towns of oblast significance, twenty-one districts, and two island territories. Besides, Mirny is a town under the federal government management.
Urdoma is an urban locality in Lensky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Verkhnyaya Lupya River, a tributary of the Vychegda. Municipally, it is the administrative center of Urdomskoye Urban Settlement, the only urban settlement in the district. Population: 4,577 (2010 Census); 4,637 (2002 Census); 4,998 (1989 Soviet census)..
Ustyansky District is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Ustyansky Municipal District. It is located in the south of the oblast and borders with Verkhnetoyemsky District in the northeast, Krasnoborsky and Kotlassky Districts in the east, Velikoustyugsky, Nyuksensky, Tarnogsky, and Verkhovazhsky Districts, all of Vologda Oblast, in the south, Velsky District in the west, and with Shenkursky District in the northwest. The area of the district is 10,700 square kilometers (4,100 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality of Oktyabrsky. Population: 30,581 (2010 Census); 37,131 (2002 Census); 45,352 (1989 Soviet census). The population of Oktyabrsky accounts for 30.4% of the district's total population.
Nyandomsky District is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Nyandomsky Municipal District. It is located in the southwest of the oblast and borders with Plesetsky District in the north and west, Shenkursky District in the east, Velsky District in the southeast, Konoshsky District in the south, and with Kargopolsky District in the southwest. The area of the district is 8,100 square kilometers (3,100 sq mi). Its administrative center is the town of Nyandoma. Population: 30,244 (2010 Census); 33,465 (2002 Census); 40,601 (1989 Soviet census). The population of Nyandoma accounts for 73.9% of the district's total population.
Savinsky is an urban locality in Plesetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) northwest of Plesetsk and 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) west of the Sheleksa railway station, on the right bank of the Yemtsa River. Municipally, it is the administrative center of Savinskoye Urban Settlement, one of the eight urban settlements in the district. Population: 7,661 (2010 Census); 7,887 (2002 Census); 11,544 (1989 Soviet census)..
Puksoozero is a rural locality in Plesetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located 22.2 kilometers (13.8 mi) southeast of Plesetsk, on Lake Puksoozero, at the source of the Puksa River, the left tributary of the Mekhrenga. Within the framework of municipal divisions, it serves as the administrative center of Puksoozerskoye Rural Settlement, one of the thirteen rural settlements in the district. Population: 1,212 (2010 Census); 2,169 (2002 Census); 4,255 (1989 Soviet census).
Samoded is a rural locality located in the north of Plesetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, on both banks of the Vaymuga River, a tributary of the Yemtsa River. Within the framework of municipal divisions, it serves as the administrative center of Samodedskoye Rural Settlement, one of the thirteen rural settlements in the district. Population: 1,518 (2010 Census); 2,004 (2002 Census); 3,072 (1989 Soviet census).
Sergey Anatolyevich Gaplikov, born in 1970, is a Russian politician who served as Head of the Komi Republic from September 2015 to April 2020 when he resigned during the 2018–2020 Shies protests.
Bobrovo is a rural locality in Koskogorskoye Rural Settlement of Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The population was 29 as of 2010. There are 3 streets.
Odinochka is a rural locality in Ostrovnoye Rural Settlement of Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The population was 41 as of 2010.
Vaymuzhsky is a rural locality in Yemetskoye Rural Settlement of Kholmogorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The population was 67 as of 2010.
The Left Bloc was a social movement that united activists of the Russian left and far-left organizations. It was formed in late November 2015 from a split in the Left Front. It is strongly critical of President Vladimir Putin.
Starting from July 2019 numerous approved and unapproved rallies in Moscow began, caused by the situation with the 2019 Moscow City Duma elections. Widespread public protests were triggered by numerous authorities' violations, claimed by the independent opposition candidates, during the registration procedure. Rallies on Sakharov Avenue on 20 July and 10 August 2019 became the largest political rallies in Russia since the 2011–2013 protests. The July 27 rally established a record on number of detainees: 1373 people were detained. The subsequent appeals of the MCEC's decisions to the CEC by the independent candidates didn't lead to any results.
Igor Anatolyevich Orlov, is a Ukrainian-born Russian statesman and politician who served as the governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast from 2012 to 2020, resigning during the 2018–2020 Shies protests. He is currently the General Director of PJSC Severnaya Verf Shipyard since June 2020.
Vadim Mikhailovich Shumkov is a Russian politician who is currently the fifth governor of Kurgan Oblast.
↑ "Север. Далее везде" (in Russian). Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru. 2019-09-23. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
↑ Издательство «Советская Россия». "Шиес: помойка атакует" (in Russian). www.sovross.ru. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
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