What is the essence of the conflict?
In 2019, the Bashkir Soda Company (BSC) plans to develop the Kushtau Shikhan
According to the company, deforestation in areaswhich belong to those categories of the forest fund in which felling and other types of work are permitted, began on July 29. Videos have appeared on social networks and the media showing that the felling is being carried out with the support of security guards.
There were also employees on sitelaw enforcement agencies and activists who tried to obstruct the work. On August 9, a flash mob was held near Mount Kushtau, in which activists and local residents took part.
The lone mountain Kushtau is located 18 kilometers from Sterlitamak and 140 kilometers from the capital of Bashkiria, Ufa.
Kushtau is not only a favorite vacation spottourists and local residents (there is a ski track and a rest house), but above all - a unique natural monument from the point of view of ecologists. From 2014 to 2019, 22 species of animals, listed in the Red Data Books of Russia, Bashkortostan and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were found on the territory of the mountain. Limestone shikhans in the south of Bashkortostan are unique - they are the remains of reefs of ancient seas. Conditions on the shikhans are very different from the surrounding steppes, notes Greenpeace. Russia ”, thanks to this unique“ communities of plants and animals ”were formed on them.
Kushtau was proposed to be given special statusprotected area, but this idea did not find a response from the authorities. Moreover, in 2018, the republican authorities transferred the shikhan to the Bashkir Soda Company for limestone mining.
As Kommersant wrote, BSK, in whichpredict a shortage of raw materials after 2020, was interested in the development of another mountain - Toratau, however, the head of the republic, Radiy Khabirov, insisted on the option with Kushtau.
When did the confrontation begin?
The protests near Mount Kushtau began on August 3, when the BSK began to cut down the forest on the mountain for geological exploration. The activists did not allow heavy equipment to climb the mountain.
On August 4, the lumberjacks arrived at the mountain again, nowalready surrounded by a whole crowd of guards. The private security company tried to fence off a section of the forest with ribbons and put up signs “There is a felling of wood”. However, the local residents managed to arrive on time again and again defended the forest. Their main argument was the demand to present a resolution of the government of Bashkortostan on the withdrawal of forests from the forest-park zone, where logging is prohibited by law.
In the evening of the same day, local residents set up tents for watch: at night unknown people tried to drive up the mountain, but when they saw the camp, they hurriedly left.
On August 6, interactions with protesters beganbe of a more severe nature: since the very morning, several vehicles arrived on the mountain: a shift truck, a tow truck, a Gazelle, accompanied by a private security company and, according to eyewitnesses, about 60 police officers.
Local residents who came to the place believed thatIt was the lumberjacks who arrived again, and therefore stood in the way of the top. Without explaining anything, the police began to detain everyone who interfered with workers' transport. The activist’s car was also taken by tow truck, which was parked in the driveway in order to hold the miners’ equipment on occasion. The police acted harshly.
On August 9, activists lined up again livethe chain around the shihan - according to various estimates, their number ranged from one and a half to five thousand people. In the evening, after most of the protesters had dispersed, the camp was attacked again. According to Rim Abdulnasyrov, at that time there were 17 people in the tents - 13 men and 4 women.
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#Kushtau will live #Kushtau
What's going on now?
Eco activists and locals call eventsaround Shihan Kushtau by the "new Shies" and demand to cancel the transfer of the mountain to the development of the BSC. This was preceded by appeals to Vladimir Putin and the Prosecutor General's Office, but the federal authorities did not pay attention to the problem.
In response to protests by environmental activists on August 15,Kushtau passed a flash mob in support of BSK employees, who, according to the organizers, may lose their jobs if production stops. According to company representatives, the plant employs 9,000 people. The director of the BSC Eduard Davydov and his deputy spoke at the action, saying that “the plant is suffocating today without raw materials. We need raw materials to continue living and developing ”.
Bashkir soda company that produces85% of baking soda in Russia, declared resource depletion in the field under development by December 2022, noting that the alternative is the Tratau limestone deposit. However, the development of this mountain-shihan is limited by the status of a natural monument.
On August 15 it became known that near ShikhanThe activists' camp was destroyed. Employees of the private security company and fighters of the Russian Guard entered into clashes with the defenders of the shihan. According to lawyer Garifulla Yapparov, on Saturday, August 15, about 80 people were detained near the mountain.
They do not provide lists of those detained. Now relatives do not know where their loved ones are. This morning my client said that 80 people were detained.
Gariful Yapparov, lawyer
ProUfu edition.ru reports that Russian Guard officers used batons, tear gas and stun grenades. Camp defenders and journalists were beaten, and a Mash correspondent's camera was broken. Interfax reports that more than 20 activists were detained. In total there were 50-60 people in the camp.
There is a mat on the video
On August 16, the defenders of Kushtau managed to recapture their camp.
During a conversation with Khabirov, activistsdemanded to dismiss the head of the Ishimbay region of the republic Azamat Abdrakhmanov: he himself, as well as several officials of his administration, were noticed among those who smashed the camp. Khabirov promised to investigate the attacks, but said about his subordinates: “You are not giving up yours, are you? I also!".
After that, the technique began to leave the shikhans. The activists also promised to leave the mountain - when the last security forces and workers leave. In the afternoon of August 17 in Ufa, the republican authorities should hold a round with the defenders of Kushtau.
Public opinion:
A petition demanding a ban on the development of Bashkir shikhans has been signed by 26 thousand people to date. Rapper Face and DDT leader Yuri Shevchuk spoke in support of the protesters.
The comedian also spoke out against the developmentMaksim Galkin. As a sign of disagreement with the authorities’ policies, the TV presenter of the Bashkir Satellite Television, Tagir Vakhitov, who went to support the activists, resigned. Two-time world sambo champion Vener Galiev was also among the protesters on Sunday, August 16.
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Picket for Kushtau in front of the UN headquarters in support of Kushtau! Thank you! #We are for Kushtau #Kushtau will live #Kushtau
What's the bottom line?
At the moment, activists are waiting to see how the round table, which the leaders of the BSK promised to hold, will take place. However, a specific date has not been announced.
We want a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but we will not leave here, geological exploration will continue, we will work.
Representative of BSK
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