Translated material
From Barvikha to Strasbourg
The conflict between residents of the Moscow region and Governor Gromov reached the European Court
Residents of Barvikha near Moscow turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for help. For several years, the applicants unsuccessfully fought with the administration of the Moscow region and businessmen against the construction of an elite cottage village in the Odintsovo district on a protected area, where, among other things, there are several archaeological monuments, including an ancient Slavic cemetery. Having found no support in the Russian courts, people are going to defend their rights to a “favorable environment and the opportunity to visit cultural heritage sites” in Strasbourg. Despite the fact that the lawsuit was officially filed with the international body by ordinary citizens, many believe that this was done not without the participation of the deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor Oleg Mitvol, who, according to regional authorities, is “settling long-standing scores with Governor Boris Gromov.”The scandalous story surrounding a 25-hectare land plot located near the Rublevo-Uspenskoye Highway, near the villages of Rozhdestvenno, Podushkino and the village of Barvikha, began at the end of 2004. First, the unknown company Poyma-Proekt LLC acquired this plot of land, the market value of which currently exceeds $100 million. Then Mr. Gromov changed the intended purpose of the land plot, transferring it from farmland to the category of individual housing construction (IHC). Having received the necessary documents, the entrepreneurs launched a vigorous activity.
First, Poyma-Project surrounded its plot with a permanent fence, completely blocking local residents’ access to the forest. Then the so-called “fire-fighting passage” was built through the Podushkinsky forest. According to local residents, the builders cut down dozens of centuries-old pines and oaks. Now trucks carrying construction materials rush along this road day and night.
Local residents said that when construction began two years ago, workers dug up the entire protected area, and some of the cottages were being built literally on bones - right on the site of an Old Slavonic cemetery. It also turned out that according to the approved plan, a storm sewer for the cottage village will be built, leading into a local river flowing into the Moscow River.
Local residents turned to the prosecutor's office, Rosprirodnadzor, Duma deputies and the court for help. “The site between the villages of Rozhdestveno and Podushkino, where construction is underway, is located in the forest park protective belt of Moscow, in the zone of sanitary protection of the capital’s drinking water supply sources, as well as within the projected specially protected natural area “Upper Moscow River.” The development of this site could have a negative impact on the environmental situation of both the Moscow region and Moscow,” said lawyer Svetlana Tikhomirova, representing the interests of village residents. “Construction is being carried out on the territory of an archeological monument of federal significance - Odintsovo burial mound group No. 7, an ancient cemetery of the Slavs of the 12th-13th centuries.”
According to lawyers, Governor Gromov violated the law, since he did not have the right to transfer federal lands from one category to another. “A significant role in the governor’s decision on the transfer was played by the regional Ministry of Culture, which provided a certificate stating that there are no cultural heritage sites on this site, although according to documents they have existed there for 800 years,” Ms. Tikhomirova was indignant. “In March 2006, we, together with the residents of Barvikha, Rozhdestvenno and Podushkino, filed a lawsuit to declare the resolution of the Moscow Region government illegal and cancel it.” But all the trials - first in the Odintsovo City Court, and then in the Moscow Regional Court - were lost. The courts recognized the decision made by Gromov as legal.
Then the residents of Barvikha decided to try their luck in Strasbourg. Tikhomirov's lawyer believes that the Russian authorities violated three articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in relation to her clients. In particular, the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time (Article 6), since the courts, according to the lawyer, made their decisions without taking into account all the available evidence. “The courts did not examine the issue of the legality of transferring a land plot from one category to another in accordance with federal legislation,” explained Ms. Tikhomirova. This, according to her, led to a violation of another article of the convention - the right to an effective remedy in disputes with the authorities (Article 13).
But the lawyer considers the most important right violated to be the right to respect for private life (Article 8). “People have lost their right to safe environmental living conditions. Now they can’t walk in the forest or play sports,” she explained. -- Objects of cultural heritage are destroyed, the right of applicants to access them is violated, moral suffering is caused. The applicants profess Orthodoxy, and the construction of a cottage village on the site of an Orthodox cemetery violates their right to preserve traditions.”
All these arguments formed the basis for an appeal to the ECHR, which was signed by several residents of Barvikha. Since among them there are minor citizens, this complaint was registered in Strasbourg as a priority. “We asked that each plaintiff be paid compensation in the amount of 15 thousand euros,” Ms. Tikhomirova said.
The regional government called the complaints filed in Strasbourg “another attempt by Oleg Mitvol to ‘attack’ Governor Boris Gromov.”
There really is a long-standing conflict between Mitvol and Gromov. First, the head of the region sued the deputy head of Rosprirodnazor for allegedly defaming his honor and dignity - in one of the newspapers, Mr. Mitvol actually accused Gromov of “illegal distribution of plots in the Moscow region and financial crimes.” The offended governor demanded compensation of 50 million rubles, but received only 10 thousand in court.
Oleg Mitvol, in turn, started a high-profile dispute with the so-called “Barvikha dachas.” The land allocated in the mid-90s by the managers of the Moscow region for the location of a country recreation center in the Barvikha area was divided into plots from 20 to 84 acres and provided ownership at a “standard price” to regional government officials. At the same time, Rosprirodnadzor announced the list of “lucky ones” and appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the court with demands to punish the perpetrators and return the forest to the state. Then, in an interview with Vremya Novostei, the deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor said: “It is rarely possible to win in local courts against local authorities. We hope for the Supreme Court. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll turn to an international authority.”
Rosprirodnadzor itself stated that it had nothing to do with the appeal of Barvikha residents to the ECHR. Meanwhile, lawyer Svetlana Tikhomirova, who will defend village residents in Strasbourg, is at the same time authorized to represent the interests of Rosprirodnadzor in disputes with regional authorities in the courts. If the ECHR comes to the defense of village residents, then, according to the law, this may become the basis for reviewing their claims in connection with newly discovered circumstances. In addition, such a decision by Strasbourg could confirm the illegality of Governor Gromov’s actions, which will undoubtedly play into the hands of Rosprirodnadzor. “Our complaint to the European Court may subsequently become a precedent on the basis of which it will be possible to resolve other similar land disputes between residents of the Moscow region and local authorities,” summed up lawyer Tikhomirova.