LOCAL

 

KHIMKI FOREST, Fri. June 17: From the back of a battered old Lada Zhiguli, a monstrous sprouting of elk antlers told us we were on the right path.

Before long the hunting trophy was attached to a tree in Khimki Forest, surrounded by posters urging the cancellation of development at Zavidovo, on the borders of Moscow and Tver Regions.

Welcome to Anti-Seliger, the first edition of a forum dedicated to bringing together individuals concerned about the state of contemporary Russia.

Not far from the almost iconic Defenders of the Khimki Forest camp, established to protest a toll road through the ancient woodlands on Moscow’s borders, organisers hoped to attract a range of activists and concerned locals to pool their efforts.

And, as The Moscow News discovered, the four-day rural retreat brought a mixture of hard-line political activists and local families together.

On the way

Getting to the site was a challenge - and one which took visitors directly through the Defenders’ camp, even though Anti-Seliger is officially separate from that long-running protest.

However, as Vladimir Morozov of the Defenders hinted, the lakeside location could be more than just an echo of the pro-government Seliger event which inspired this dissident offspring.

“There’s no other way to get to this lake, so it wasn’t like we deliberately [took people to the camp],” Morozov said.

“But the place itself for Anti-Seliger has been chosen deliberately of course,” he added. 

Policing worries

Before the event there had been fears that heavy-handed policing might prompt a showdown between oppositionists and the authorities.

While Yevgeniya Chirikova, the figurehead of the event, insisted it was a non-political gathering, the vocal presence of Sergei Udaltsov, leader of the Left Front and a serial arrestee at Strategy 31 and similar events, told a different tale.

At the start the police presence was discreet, and even curious about what might be going on.

On the way out of the camp, police officers in their car on the forest fringe asked me: “So what’s going on there? When should we show up?” 

But it was nothing sinister: “There’s going to be a concert or something - we’d like to watch.”

The rumors of trouble did not deter some families from coming along.

One woman, who had come with her daughter and five-year-old grand-daughter, was confident that all would go off without a hitch.

“I'm not even worrying about it - if there are riot police here we’ll just step aside and no-one will touch us - there’s a child with us here,” she said. “When it was really dangerous here, we all were just sitting at home, and when everything’s been done for us we came - that’s the way we are - common people,” she laughed.

No problems were reported from Friday and Saturday at the event, which organizers said brought about 2,000 people to the forest.

First-time activists

The woman and her family had heard about the rally on the radio, and picked up more details online before deciding to come along. They didn't plan to camp overnight unless the weather was very warm, but were keen to come back again if the rain stayed away.

Her daughter Polina insisted that there was no political edge to their visit.

“We are just ordinary people. We did sign a petition for the Khimki forest on the internet, and that was it - it’s the way we are. There’s nothing special about us.” 

But she added she had been impressed by Chirikova’s ability to draw attention to the plight of the forest and agreed that it was time to take a stand.

“There was a pine forest in our area but nothing is left now - they claimed they were going to build houses for military officers and now, when the flats are built, there is an announcement about flats being on sale,” Polina added.

“And we understand this domino effect - if they cut this forest, shortly there will be nothing left in our area.”

“They start with trees and move on to people,” her mother hinted darkly in conclusion.

Vladimir, a self-confessed “average guy” in his early 20s, was another making his first visit to an event like this.

“I haven’t been involved with any campaign or movement. But I don’t really like what’s happening in the country and I keep an eye on what people do to change the situation,” he said.

“The Khimki forest defenders seemed to succeed in some way. And I read Navalny’s blog, and also other things, and for now I’m interested. We’ll see - it may be possible to do something practical in the future. And today I came here to have a look what people do in general.” 

 

Seasoned veterans

Others had seen many previous rallies like this, either from the platform, like Udaltsov, as part of the protesting audience or as an observer.

Zhenya, a member of Russia’s Libertarian Party, wore a t-shirt proclaiming “A slogan can’t prevent a crime, but an armed citizen can!”

He promised he’d left his gun at home - weapons are not allowed at Anti-Seliger - and explained that he was a regular at rallies and was happy to be at this one.

“The weather’s beautiful, it’s summer, warm, it’s a forest - so why not?” he smiled. “Also, taking a rest with some purpose is better than just lying on the beach at Serebryanny Bor, it’s a bigger cause together with other people.

“And the cause is - among other things - to protect the forest, to protect the right of local residents to dispose of the land they live on.” 

Zhenya said he was no environmentalist, but he believed in the people’s ownership rights over municipal land.

“And here it seems that the forest is owned by bureaucrats who actually have nothing to do with it and can’t show any documents.”

Along with Left Front and the Libertarians, there were banners supporting Yabloko, Solidarity, the Pirates’ Party of Russia and the campaign to free Mikhail Khodorkovsky - a typical roll-call of liberal disaffection.

But journalism student Almaz, the only man in a suit at the whole event, admitted that the he was rarely impressed by the opposition events he had attended in and around Moscow.

“I come as a third party just to observe what’s happening there,” he said. “None of them have been really impressive so far.”

Counter-demonstration

Pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, closely associated with the original Seliger camps, had initially poured scorn on the Anti-Seliger project, saying it merely highlighted the ideological bankruptcy of an opposition which merely imitates.

But that did not stop them coming along to see for themselves - something which encouraged the organisers.

Apparently the Nashi group had arrived incognito, claiming to be bloggers, but were quickly identified.

However, Oleg Melnikov, leader of the “Alternativa” youth movement and the instigator of Anti-Seliger, was unconcerned.

“We are happy to see them here - it means they support us and they are with us,” he said. 

The Nashi group themselves were unavailable for comment at the time, as they were sleeping in their tent.

 

Read other articles of the print issue "The Moscow News #46"