Statement of the «Coalition for the forests of Moscow region!»

December 15, 2010

With a tacit approval of the President of Russia, on December 14th, his own decision to
suspend work on the road through the Khimki forest was in fact neglected.

In August 2010, Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, ordered to halt
construction of the route from Moscow to St. Petersburg on the section passing through the
Khimki forest and to hold further discussions with the participation of the public.

The first discussion was held at the joint meeting of the Social Councils of the Ministry of
Transport of the Russian Federation and the Federal Road Agency, where, as was expected,
the majority of those affiliated with these agencies supported the destruction of the forest.
Next, more representative discussion was held in the Public Chamber of the Russian
Federation, the main conclusion of which was the justification for additional study and analysis
of all route options.
In accordance with this decision, an expert group was created under the leadership of T.V.
Zlotnikova, Doctor of Law, former President of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, who
was supposed to submit a detailed report to the Public Chamber the next week.

Without waiting for the report, on 14th December 2010 a meeting of the Governmental
Commission took place, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, where it was decided
to lay the route according to the original version. Neither professional environmentalists nor the
representatives of public organizations were present during the meeting.

A few hours later, Dmitry Medvedev’s spokeswoman, N. Timakova, declared the support of
this decision.

Thus, the discussion with public participation was finished, having not taken place, and the
results of the expert group remained unclaimed.

The “Coalition for the forests of Moscow region!" believes that the decision taken prior to the
scheduled on December 20th, 2010 meeting of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation
has turned a so-called "discussion with the public" into a mockery, showing a genuine
dismissive attitude of the authorities towards the opinion of the environmental community.
The “Coalition for the forests of Moscow region!" believes that the construction plan of a
highway from Moscow to St. Petersburg in its current form is fundamentally contrary to the
basic principles of preparation and implementation of such projects, internationally recognized
for the following reasons:
- lack of transparency of the procedure of socially significant decision making about the choice
of the route;
- imitation "of the legal registration” of a knowingly wrongful unsustainable decision on laying
the route through the forest park zone;
- violation of the law and the rights of citizens in the implementation of the project (work without
permits, non-admission of public control, disinformation and administrative pressure to create
the appearance of public support for ongoing project).

Instead of a serious analysis of the offenses committed when selecting the route and removal
of land from the greenbelt, instead of searching for a socially, economically and
environmentally acceptable option, instead of a profound examination of all environmental and
social risks and the consequences for the region, an imitation of a "legal registration" of the
decision taken long ago was chosen.

Crimes against Khimki forest defenders and journalists who were objectively covering the
ongoing events are deliberately not being investigated. Attempted murders on Beketov,
Fetisov, Kashin, bandits attacking with the support of SWAT a peace camp of Khimki forest
supporters, arbitrariness of the Khimki police, the numerous abuses of official position - all of
these crimes not only remain unsolved, but there is not even any significant action taken for
their disclosure.

While agreeing with the construction of the road through the Khimki forest, President,
unfortunately, has not found the will and resources to curb the corruption behind the project
and bandits involved in the project.

If the President does truly support a clearly wrong decision and if he supports how and using
which methods it was "forced in", it means that there is no working mechanism for public
participation when making complex decisions. In this regard, the “Coalition for the forests of
Moscow region!" does not consider participation in the dialogue effective no more and will
strive to save Khimki forest in other civilized ways, including an appeal at the international
level.

The UN declared 2011 the Year of the Forest. Everyone welcomes this year in their own
way.

WWF Russia
Greenpeace Russia
Social-Ecological Union
Biodiversity conservation center
Russian birds conservation union
Movement for Khimki forest protection