INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
citizens in Ulan-Ude, a city of 436,000 people near the eastern shore of Lake Baikal, in the latest example of Russians pushing back against
authorities and corporations seeking to encroach upon green spaces near their homes.The proposed penal institution, costing 26 billion
rubles ($296 million) and intended to replace an aging, century-old prison in the city center, will require about 80 hectares of forest to
And you want to cut down a pine forest covering an area of 80 hectares? No, this is a disaster
activists argue they were not properly informed about the hearings and insist on relocating the facility beyond the city limits, with their
"I believe that the forest is a common heritage, and the whole city should be interested."Precious greeneryThe logging of the 80 hectares,
areas near people's homes in Russia nearly always leads to public discontent, which often escalates into protests, Dmitry Morozov, a
people beyond those who are concerned with the environment, said Morozov, who receives five to six requests for help from activists across
development on the territory of the city forest (in green).Ulan-Ude city administrationHowever, even the most vocal public protests against
mega-prison in Ulan-Ude may be not the only one on the horizon
The development plan for several of Russia's Far East territories envisions the construction of a similar facility for 3,000 detainees in
Chita, the capital of the Zabaikalsky region.Elsewhere in Russia, a 4,000-bed isolation facility has been operational in St
Petersburg since 2017, while the Kaluga region south of Moscow announced plans for the construction of a 3,000-inmate prison settlement in
for the new mega-prison.Federal Penitentiary Service for the republic of BuryatiaA prevailing negative outlook among Russians toward
convicted individuals ignores judicial errors and the fact that many people serve unjust sentences, Moscow-based lawyer and human rights
building nearby, which, in fact, scares and creates this negative background?" Bogdan said.Despite prisons partially emptying due to inmates
departing for the war, the construction of new facilities may still be necessary to improve the conditions of detainees in Russia, which has
said.Mounting troublesIn Ulan-Ude, however, the concerns about the mega-prison are piling up on the already unnerving everyday life of
Not an IT cluster, for example, but a prison
And this says more about the current [political] regime than anything else."Prisoners in the colony.Federal Penitentiary Service for the
In mid-December, they invited 25 deputies to a meeting, but all the invitations were ignored.Morozov said that the reputation of many
alternative project: propose building the prison in another location and actively promote their initiative, drawing the attention of the
