In Syktyvkar, United Russia takes credit for activists' initiative to protect the forest

The United Russia Party in the Komi Republic announced the collection of signatures against logging near the villages of Yazel and Pychim in Syktyvdinsky District. On July 12, they posted a video about it in the government's community on vk.com. They reported in the post that local residents asked them to collect signatures. The United Russia party members plan to file their demands to stop cutting down trees with the State Duma.

However, the activists reported that they had started collecting signatures on their own, without seeking help from representatives of United Russia. The local residents called their actions a provocation. In addition, Syktyvdinsky District, where forests are being cut down for sand extraction, is headed by Lyubov Doronina, the United Russia Party member.

In 2021, citizens of the Komi Republic collected more than 1.6 thousand signatures under an appeal to Vladimir Uyba, the head of the region. They asked to stop logging for sand extraction in Syktyvdinsky District. The residents indicated in the appeal that they could lose the opportunity to collect berries and mushrooms and the rest area due to the logging. Then, Uyba supported the residents and prohibited the sand quarry development for sand extraction.

Residents of Yazel and Pychim rallied to local forests’ defense again in 2022. For the first time, they stopped logging by coming out with banners on July 3. For the second time, on July 9, there was an attempt to cut down the forest at night, but the activists prevented it. They called the police and Emergencies Ministry. Traffic police officers found out there that one employee did not have a driver's license, and took him to the department. Emergencies Ministry did not come to the call. Despite this, the workers did not cut down the trees.

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