The Khimki forest: ups and downs around the construction of the new M-11 Moscow-Petersburg highway

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

The forest fund of Moscow and the region is extremely important for people, as it neutralizes the multi-ton emissions of harmful substances produced by countless enterprises of the metropolis. At times, developers manage to draw up documents for the construction of buildings that affect forest and even protected areas, and then scandals flare up between contractors, officials and concerned citizens. This time, the Khimki forest was at the epicenter of attention and confrontation, through which the Moscow-Petersburg highway (M-11) was nevertheless built.

A bit of forest history

The first written mention of this forest area dates back to the 14th century. Being in close proximity to Moscow, it acts as the last defensive line of the capital in times of war. So, in 1608-1609. the Khimki forest helped the army of Vasily Shuisky to defeat the troops of False Dmitry 2: sneaking through a dense thicket, the soldiers suddenly attacked the enemy and turned him into a shameful flight. During the Patriotic War of 1812, abundantvegetation served as a reliable shelter for partisan detachments. 1941 was also no exception - the forest had to endure severe tests: oak forests were cut down to make anti-tank hedgehogs.

The flora and fauna of this forest are rich and varied, relict plants grow here, as well as pines, spruces, larches, hazel, lindens, primroses, lilies of the valley, lungwort, bathing suits and many others, natural biosystems have been created - oak forest and raised bog. In addition, species listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region grow. This natural filter protects the city of Khimki and its residents from industrial emissions from enterprises in the capital and the Moscow region, has a beneficial effect on the he alth of tuberculosis patients, therefore tuberculosis clinics are located in the vicinity of the forest.

Conflict: key actors

From the beginning of the approval of the project for laying a high-speed toll highway, the Khimki forest has been at the epicenter of a powerful confrontation. Public, political (Yabloko, Right Cause and others), environmental organizations (more than 40, including Greenpeace), musicians (Yuri Shevchuk), who were united in the Khimki Forest Defenders Movement, were on the side of the road construction opponents. Yevgenia Chirikova led the movement.

Many scandalous events are connected with the construction of the highway, including attempts on the life and he alth of the most active defenders of the forest and an attack on the city administration of Khimki (unknown persons threw stones at it andfireworks). At the end of the summer of 2010, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev decided to suspend construction and organize public hearings on the issue.

Eco-defense in defense of the Khimki Forest

At various times from 2007 to 2010, rallies and protests were held in Khimki and Moscow, activists of the movement staged sabotage at the construction site, repeatedly appealed to various authorities, including the President of the Russian Federation, involved experts and human rights activists in assessing the situation. As a result, the construction decision was nevertheless approved and implemented, albeit with certain amendments and a compensation package.

Despite the fact that the project, according to which the route through the Khimki forest nevertheless ran, was implemented, the efforts of environmentalists were not wasted: the width of the clearing was reduced - from the originally intended 3 km to 100 m; minimized the length of the route - 8 km of a straight section, like an arrow; trees were planted on 500 hectares instead of the cut down 100 hectares; allocated an unprecedented amount in the history of the Russian Federation to pay compensation for environmental damage - 4 billion rubles.

Pros and cons

In addition to the main project for the construction of a motorway through the Khimki forest, there were 10 more alternative options that provided for the passage of the highway through the villages of Vashutino and Molzhaninovo. According to these projects, about 50 houses in these settlements were subject to demolition. The residents of the villages, of course, did not like this situation, and they expressed their protest.

The city of Khimki itself was divided into 2 camps: some residents were for the construction, others were against it. Some opponents of the new highway, such as, for example, road construction expert Mikhail Blinkin, consider the version of the existing highway not the most successful in terms of solving the transport problems of the capital, however, the quality of the road and the implementation of the project deserve attention - this is the first highway of the European level in Russia.