Save Khimki Forest!

At night, the harvester was working despite many persons fighting in the dangerous zone. Securities were attacking activists and patrolling a narrow road in the forest. In the morning, the harvester approached the environmentalists’ camp with unknown intentions. 12 activists tried to block its movement. They were attacked by 13 securities and bandits. A chaotic clash happened.
Pavel Shekhtman’s cheekbone was damaged. A bandit struck Yaroslav Nikitenko in his throat and jaw. Ekaterina Drobotenko was knocked to the ground and kicked into the kidneys. Vera Lenina was hit into her jaw more than once and into the kidneys. Sergei Ageev was stunned by brass knuckles, his head was injured and bleeding. Dmitri Monakhov was beaten with a rubber hose (perhaps with a steel core inside) . Oleg Melnikov’s jaw was smashed – it was broken twice with displacement. French citizen Nikita Mikhalkov also suffered. He was a descendant of Russian emigrants who came to support  the activists. The assailants hit him in the groin, resulting in a serious injury, he was sent to the hospital. Police failed  to react immediately after the call of the victims. Those who had serious injures were taken to the International Highway from where an ambulance car took them to the hospital.

Finally,  Senior Guard of Vityaz’ Sergei Parshin and Poice Lt. Stanislav (Ruslan?) Mironenko arrived. The policeman offered to go to the office and write a complain.The environmentalists asked him to interrogate first the guards who were beating up the activists. As soon as the defenders of the forest together with Mironenko approached the camp  of PSC, ununiformed men immediately fled into the woods.

In the morning,  Suren Gazaryan rode from the camp on a bike to buy food. On his way through the forest, he was attacked by five men who began to beat him. Gazaryan’s face was smashed, his bike broken. The chief thug was dressed in the uniform of Bundeswehr with the German flag on his sleeve. The other mobster was dressed as a skeleton. Local residents told the environmentalists that the bandits broke their fence and garden gate and kept running to and fro every day.

Policemen from the Chief Office of Internal Affairs of Moscow Region arrived after the call about the night attack. They intended to examine the place of the incident. Some time later a group of men was seen approaching the tent camp, and the activists recognized in them the thugs which had attacked the camp before. When the men saw the policemen, they tried to run away but one of them was caught by activists. Another one was found inside a temporary living construction. Sergey Nikolayevich Rutsev, a guard from the PSC Vityaz’ refused to show his ID card. The policeman asked him to come out from the construction, and the guard disobeyed. Two attackers were finally detained, but released within an hour.

By the midday, five tents stood in Khimki Forest near river Klyazma. About 20 persons were in the camp; among them there were representatives of the Movement to  Defend Khimki Forest, the Moscow Soviet, movements ‘Left Front’, ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Alternative’, environmentalists and journalists.

Evgenia Chirikova appealed to the Chairman of the Presidential Council for Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.

Picketing of Moscow regional Prosecutor’s Office took place. An open letter was handed to the prosecutor, accusing police in the blood shed in Khimki Forest. Indeed, Khimki police department didn’t act at all, and part of the crimes became possible just because the top officers of the police department turned blind eye to the criminals. The letter included an appeal to Moscow regional prosecutor A.A. Anikin to take urgent measures to stop the violence.

See for more details:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4XKur73Rs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M6a3Qw6xWE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZhh4UtwTxw
http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualactivist#p/u/24/77GlQJ1PTek
http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualactivist#p/u/25/c9hvMD3Am9c
http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualactivist#p/u/26/koLJ_-y00TI
http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualactivist#p/u/25/c9hvMD3Am9c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZhh4UtwTxw
http://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/1517175.html
http://gp-russia.livejournal.com/1313809.html
http://d-lindele.livejournal.com/61901.html
http://www.newstube.ru/media/napadeniya-na-zashhitnikov-ximkinskogo-lesa
http://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/1517221.html

A public inspection was held in order to survey the places of cutting down of the trees for the future highway. 40 people, including Evgenia Chirikova,  Yaroslav Nikitenko,  State Duma member (MP) G. Gudkov, activist of the Left Front S. Udaltsov went to the forest. The meeting of the public inspection with the guards from  Private Security Company (PSC) Vityaz’ (which was supposedly commissioned by the destroyers of the forest from DorInzhStroyProekt – former "PO Teplotekhnik" LLC) was, to put it mildly, unfriendly. Nevertheless, the presence of MP Gennady Gudkov appeared to prevent an open clash. o permits for cutting down of trees were found by the public inspection. The guards also failed to provide their documents. They commented that they defend not the nature, just  the machinery.

The activists managed to get in touch with General Director of company "PO Teplotekhnik" Alexander Semchenko. He agreed to speak with Mr. Gudkov via mobile phone. During the talk, he admitted that his company has neither permissions to perform construction works nor permissions to cut down trees.

Meanwhile, a detail of the Khimki police arrived. Evgenia Chirikova demanded them to stop the illegal destruction of the forest, since the contractors had no documents for cutting. Police lieutenant Sheruimov expresses his sympathy to the activists, but refused to accept the written act about illegal cutting from the environmentalists.Sheruimov was also very kind to Mr. Gudkov, but refused to take any real action to stop the works. After the departure of the MP, the activists and the journalists decided to set up a camp in the Khimki forest, to patrol the possible places of work and prevent further illegal cutting down of the trees.

Soon, they found another clearing where 150-year-old oaks were cut down. The further cutting down of trees was stopped, but a violent incident happened. Greenpece volunteer Aleksey Belykh together with another activist were attacked by ununiformed bandits. Mr. Belykh got a blow to the face which apparently resulted in a broken nose.

See for more details:
http://www.ecmo.ru/news/p126/n-1778/ (Ru)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beilinson/sets/72157626648614408
http://oleg-kozyrev.livejournal.com/3496128.html

Again, activists got the info that large-scale cutting down of trees in the forest resumed - despite statements of Russian company Avtodor that all the works are confined to taking away the trees that was fallen this summer. Activists of Save Khimki Forest Movement arrived at site and found clearing in process guarded by police and security forces.

The perpetrators of cutting down of trees failed to provide any permissions for this work. Nevertheless, police threatened to arrest activists in case they didn't leave the scene. Police refused to check permissions for cutting down of trees and literally  joined security thugs from "Vityaz" agency.  Activists were accused in an "unauthorized gathering" - a sheer nonsence, since no permission needed for gathering according to Russian law.

Police attacked activists, some of them were beaten and handcuffed. 10 persons were arrested, including Evgenia Chirikova and Yaroslav Nikitenko.

The arrested persons were  imprisoned in Khimki Police Station (Khimki, Kudriavtseva str., 4). They were threatened in a very brutal way all day long, even denied to sit down or drinking. Evgenia Chirikova  was undressed and searched by police,  her mobile phone was taken away. Mobile phone of Yaroslav Nikitenko was also taken away, later police failed to give it back.

In the evening, all the detained persons were brought to Khimki Court. Only Nikitenko's case was heared, he was found not guilty in disobeying police. All the activists were freed, but the next day, police brought Evgenia Chirikova to the court again - but failed to formulate any meaningful accuisitions against her.

Photos of the detention

Today, Russian state company "Avtodor" tried to demonstrate its ability to re-start works in the Khimki Forest despite civic protests in Russia and abroad. Tens of jornalists were gathered by Avtodor to show them the start of the works.

All the works had been already stopped when activists reached the place. There were a few trucks loaded with tree trunks on the clearing. Few tree trunks were even unloaded back. The trunks were left from the summer, no new clearing were carried out. Nevertheless, activists demanded to demonstrate any permissions for works or for taking away the wood. It was done because we consider the falling of trees this summer as a criminal case, and any attempts to hide the evidence must be stopped, even outside the Khimki Forest. The workers failed to provide the permissions though the permissions must be available at the site of works according to the legislation. Meantime, it was found out that Teplotekhnik,  the very company which hired the Neo-Nazis is still working on the project. Then activists addressed police asking them to interfere and find out who those workers were and ask their permissions. Police refused to interfere. Activists submitted an official complain about police inaction. Fortunately, no direct violence occured this time.