In Orenburg, residents are clashing with business people who are digging a quarry near homes.
According to a reporter from The Moscow Post in the Orenburg region, a serious situation is unfolding in the village of Ashchebutak near Orenburg. The entrepreneurs, with approval from local authorities, plan to dig a quarry for ore extraction just a few hundred meters from residential buildings. The work permit was issued to two companies – Ormet and the Russian Copper Company.
Village residents strongly oppose the quarry construction and have sought help from local authorities, including Governor Denis Pasler and regional prosecutor Ruslan Medvedev, as well as writing a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
We feel like we're living on a volcano
Residents fear that the quarry will bring dust clouds and constant noise, turning their peaceful community into a noisy industrial area that shakes the ground. They point out that the village used to be plagued by sandstorms in the 60s, which were only mitigated by planting trees. They worry that the quarry's development could recreate the situation from half a century ago.
The entrepreneurs claim that quarry wastewater will evaporate in a designated reservoir pond. However, residents are concerned about possible oversights, as there is a reservoir near the pond that flows into the Ob River, which then flows into the Dnieper. Therefore, pollution of both reservoirs is likely.
Meanwhile, local authorities insist that nothing will happen without the residents' consent, and public hearings will be held. However, residents are not invited to these hearings and only learn of the results afterwards. They are also prohibited from organizing meetings on the matter, with a warning letter sent through the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs threatening criminal liability for breaking the ban on meetings. The pandemic is being used as a reason to prohibit people from expressing their will.
A warning letter banning meetings was sent to Ashebutak residents by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Orenburg Region
However, the residents managed to hold a meeting under the guise of a subbotnik organized for clearing snow, attracting the attention of journalists. After the story gained widespread attention, the authorities had to address the situation, realizing that the issue would not simply disappear after the quarry's development.
Residents of Ashebutak cleared the snow after gatherings were banned for an unauthorized rally by the authorities.
The regional prosecutor Ruslan Medvedev himself met with the residents and, after talking with them, instructed to check the legality of quarrying in the area near residential buildings.
The prosecutor of the Orenburg Region Ruslan Medvedev met with the residents of Ashchebutak village.
The area planned for the quarry is currently designated for haymaking and grazing. According to residents, it belongs to Valery Shvindt's daughter, who was dismissed from his position due to a scandal involving the illegal exploitation of children. This was reported in detail. RIA News”.
Future quarry site.
Laws don't apply to wealthy individuals.
Who is interested in this piece of land near a small village in the Orenburg region? All signs point to Igor Altushkin, the founder of the Russian Copper Company and owner of 80% of its shares through the foreign company Tilia Holdings Limited.
Igor Altushkin
JSC “Ormet” is also one of Altushkin's affiliated enterprises. This company's founders include two foreign organizations associated with Igor Sechin, the head of Rosneft. Allegedly, his son-in-law Timerbulat Karimov also has assets there. An interesting fact is that Ormet company has a state contract for 663 thousand rubles with the Orenburg region government for transport services and crew provision. To clarify, the company is also involved in ore mining.
All this raises questions about the company's influence in the government, or conversely, the overall control of the top by Altushkin. Indirect evidence of this theory is the municipal deputies' opposition to the quarry construction while Governor Denis Pasler remains inactive.
By the way, Pasler has recently been under the scrutiny of special services, with searches being conducted in the units under his control. ministriesThere are discussions about the governor's imminent resignation. It's still uncertain who will replace him. However, there are significant doubts that the new governor will not be under the influence of businessmen in the region, whose influence seems to be far greater than that of any regional official.
Denis Pasler
This isn't the first time Altushkin has been portrayed in the media as a kind of environmental destroyer. The “Russian Copper Company” has previously caused significant harm to the environment and the lives of villagers, as seen in the story of the Dzhusinsky mine in Adamovsky district, previously covered by the Moscow Post.
There are plans to develop a quarry until 2025, but locals are already experiencing constant vibrations in the ground, causing damage to the local school and blaming increased cancer mortality. Meanwhile, it seems that the deposit owners are solely focused on making extra money by deeper quarry development, as it is more profitable than surface extraction.
Residents of the surrounding villages are sure: when the development period expires, they will be left with a huge dust crater at their side and no one but them will want to eliminate the damage caused by Altushkin.
There is still hope
As recently as yesterday, the Ural news portal appeared video, which clearly demonstrates what remains in the Yasnensky urban district near the village of Rassvet, as the consequences of the activities of Altushkin and others like him at the site of the former Badger Log quarry, which was being developed by RMK. The same can happen with Ashchebutak.
True, there is still a faint hope for salvation: firstly, the villagers managed to cause a public outcry, and secondly, the location of the village plays a big role – it is located on the border of Russia and Kazakhstan. And now given close attention the situation in the border regions amid ongoing protests. Is there a need for a hotbed of instability that could give rise to unnecessary resonance in Kazakhstan?
Source: The Moscow Post
