Last method: defenders of Lipkinsky forest reached the Kremlin

Lyudmila Butuzova

“None of the enemies who came to this land were able to gain a foothold here and change the historical, cultural and natural landscape of the area: neither Napoleon's army in 1812, nor the advanced units of the Wehrmacht in December 1941”, says a letter from citizens indignant at plans to turn bleeding earth into commercial projects. - Deforestation of the relict forest and the construction of elite housing "on the bones of the dead" is a cynical destruction of the memory of our heroic ancestors, an insult to the patriotic feelings of several generations of Zvenigorod residents".

“It's just a blow for people”, local activist Yelena Ivanova told NI. - There has never been any special military-patriotic education in Zvenigorod. Artificial parks “Patriots” with polished dugouts are ridiculous. Here the dugout was left from the war, all blackened, a genuine defensive structure ... People keep all this very carefully, their attitude to memory is not bookish. The child has grown up - the parents take the hand - they went to clean up the mass graves. I got older - I came as a volunteer to the search party. How many military artifacts have been found, how many more lies in the thicket ... The state project "Line of Defense of Moscow" has been developed, part of it are Lipkinsky and Maslovsky forests. In March last year, activists received a presidential grant to preserve the memory of the Zvenigorod land. And now it turned out that our forest is just an economic asset for developers. How is this possible? An appeal to the mind of the deputies and officials who allowed this, three years of courts for the preservation of the forest ended in our complete loss. Citizens are forced to turn to the president...

The story with Lipka Forest began in December 2017. Then, at a public hearing on the draft general plan of the Ershov settlement of the Odintsovo district, residents of the neighboring villages of Lipki, Sinkovo, Palitsa, Laryushino, Gryaz, Mozzhinka, Aksinino, Ivanovka and the city of Zvenigorod learned about the impending grandiose development of 38.8 hectares of relic forest with elite cottages. One can imagine the indignation of people and the scandal that followed - only the blind did not see that the owners of CJSC “Agrocomplex“ Gorki-2” , who had already taken possession of hundreds of hectares of forests in the Rublevskoe direction, were interested in building. Lipkinsky forest, which was part of the water-green frame of the Moscow region and the tourist and recreational cluster, remained at that time the only inaccessible place for felling and building. Despite the indignation of people and the categorical prohibition of Rosleskhoz on any construction in the protected area, a year later, in December 2018, the Council of Deputies of the Odintsovo urban district approved the sawn master plan.

Local residents went to court and received an object lesson, how strict forest laws with the help of dexterous hands turn into a sieve. The Moscow Regional Court considered that the disputed territory (38.8 hectares) "never belonged to the lands of the State Forest Fund", since it was not sold as a forest. According to the papers, the forest was listed as agricultural land, later it was included in the composition of settlements. The basis for the transformation of the forest into a settlement was the "statement of CJSC" Agrocomplex Gorki-2 "". "Novye Izvestia" wrote about this in detail ("The line of defense of Moscow: historical sites are not bombed, but built up", 20.06.20). But who would have thought that Odintsovo's officials and deputies, justifying their manipulations to move the forest back and forth, could even attach it to a settlement called Moscow. But they came up with it! According to the extracts of the USRN, the Skating Rink on Red Square is listed at number 50: 20: 0000000: 96. In the interpretation of the regional authorities, this is the “mother plot”, from which nine agricultural plots allegedly originated, which eventually went to the “Gorki-2” Agrocomplex.

Later, Rosleskhoz entered the struggle for forest lands. While he was in litigation, the territory of overlapping with the Goslesfond with the help of the same playful pens increased from 38.8 hectares to 726 hectares. It turned out that all 726 hectares have long been leased from the agricultural complex, have passed the "forest amnesty" announced in the Moscow region by Governor Andrey Vorobyov, and there is already a project for the development of elite cottages in Lipkinsky Forest.

It's hard to believe, but the court did not find anything illegal in the current situation and did not become interested in what kind of amnesty it is that feeds private business two or three hundred hectares of forest every year? Governor Vorobyov explained its necessity so that people, whose capital buildings have long been on the lands of the forest fund, could register their real estate in ownership. However, in fact, the "forest amnesty" has become a powerful lever for the withdrawal for development of the pristine relict forests of the Moscow region, which are part of the green belt of Moscow.

"The most interesting thing is that the forestry committee of the Moscow region was engaged in the removal of forests, which, it seems, is supposed to take care of them, according to its duty", - says Yelena Ivanova. - At that time, the committee was headed by Ivan Sovetnikov, he signed the "forest amnesty" adopted by the governor throughout the Moscow region and became, among other things, the manager of the disputed 726 hectares of our Lipkinsky forest. In addition to this, he, in violation of the law, signed agreements for the lease of another hundred hectares in specially protected natural areas (SPNA), where leasing is generally prohibited. For example, in Ershovskoye and Uspenskoye rural settlements, several owners illegally leased out most of the protected area "Maslovskaya Lesnaya Dacha", this is a forest between villages. Maces and Maslovo. This is how Sovetnikov served Vorobyov and other "necessary people" and went to be promoted to the federal structure. And we stayed here - to jump on our heads together with the Leskhoz in order to return 726 hectares of forests taken from state property.

At the end of last year, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation joined Rosleskhoz in the trial. Very high hopes were pinned on "heavy artillery". The management expressed dissatisfaction that the areas of the natural reserve and forests, constituting a single ecosystem with it, continued to be leased out, built up, cut down ... Well, the ministry should once again shake up its powers! Dreaming ... In court it turned out that the Ministry of Natural Resources was just an indifferent observer of many years of bacchanalia in its economy. The deadlines established by law were simply missed in order to quickly assess the situation, sue and snatch at least the remnants of the nature near Moscow from the grabbing hands. Lipkinsky forest was not at all lucky - the department found out about its problems when it was too late to take proactive measures.

On December 21, 2020, a final hearing was held at the Moscow Regional Court, at which 700 hectares of forest were transferred to the owners from the Gorki-2 agricultural complex. Authoritative oligarchs David Yakobashvili and Gabriel Yushayev, better known as Garik Makhachkala in his youth, are called the owners of this mysterious structure, which has only Rublev's mansions of all agro. The co-owner and general director of the office is Timofey Klimovsky, a native of Odintsovo. He is considered the main ruble latifundist who made a fortune on the sale of land in the Gorki-2 state farm, founded, by the way, by the head of the NKVD, Felix Dzerzhinsky. In the late 90s, former workers of the decayed farm sold their land shares to Klimovsky at a price of 120 rubles per hectare - "for new agricultural production." Recall that in 2017, the administration of the Odintsovo district sold the rights to the Lipkinsky forest to the Gorki-2 agricultural complex at a price of 66 kopecks per square meter. This was done, according to the general plan, with the aim of the so-called "development of the region". The paradox of development lies in the fact that the authorities of the Odintsovo District are again developing the direction of Rublevka, and not distant settlements.

Novye Izvestia sent an official request to Mr. Klimovsky with a request to clarify what plans Agroholding Gorki-2 has for Lipkinsky Les, and how they correspond to the amendments to the Constitution adopted at the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation in June 2020, and guaranteeing “ creating favorable conditions for the life of the population, preserving the country's unique natural and biological diversity ”, as well as preserving historical sites associated with military exploits. At the time of publication of the material, no response was received from Agroholding. We wait.

Meanwhile, the residents of Zvenigorod continue to resist the development in all ways available to them, including by calling the president of the country into allies and pulling out the pegs in the forest areas marked for cottages. The leshoz, despite the fact that the Moscow Regional Court refused to satisfy the claim against the Odintsovo deputies who illegally disposed of the state forest fund, appealed to higher authorities. So in the history of the Lipka forest, new turns are possible, it is too early to put an end to it.