Translated material
Scraper on the monument
Once again environmentalists and social activists in the Novgorod region are sounding the alarm! The officials' mistake in 2009 led to a situation where you have to choose: violate Federal Law or spend extra tens of millions.
2 years ago I already wrote about this story . Unfortunately, during this time the Administration of the Novgorod Region did not figure out how to correct its mistake. Below I publish an open appeal from the Novgorod Ecology Club and the Club of Friends of the Valdai National Park Borovno.
The public sighed joyfully, but it turned out it was too early
According to media reports , on March 1, the regional administration held a long-awaited meeting on preparations for the construction of the M-11 expressway.
In particular, Soyuzdorproekt General Director Andrei Eremin said that changes have been made to the plan in order to preserve the Zaruchevye natural monument in the Okulovsky district.
The entire green community sighed with joy. But of course! The route will not destroy a memorable corner of Russia. A century and a half ago, it was ennobled and drained by the famous botanist and agronomist, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, founder and first director of the Petrovsky (later Timiryazevsky) Agricultural and Forestry Academy Nikolai Ivanovich Zheleznov. In the middle of the 19th century, the scientist laid out a regular park, a house, a pond, and a forest nursery here with Siberian and European fir, thuja and cedar trees. And in 1856 he laid the first closed pottery drainage system in Russia , draining the previously swampy area. For this purpose, a plant for the production of pottery pipes was built here.
A mill dam was built on the Krivchaga River and a reservoir was created, roads were laid, and the entrance alley was paved with stone.
Here, on his estate, the famous academician bequeathed to bury himself.
The first blow to all this splendor was struck in 1917. First of all, the house church was blown up and the Zheleznov family crypt was destroyed, then the dam and reservoir, the orchard, the greenhouse, the manor house, and the roads fell into disrepair...
And yet, even today the mighty larches, oaks, and elms amaze the imagination. Fir trees, rare in our area, are successfully propagating by self-seeding already in the third generation. It is surprising (and instructive) that the drainage system, built a century and a half ago , is functioning properly and keeps the area from becoming waterlogged.
In 1977, the Novgorod Regional Executive Committee accepted the territory of the former Zheleznov estate with an area of more than 200 hectares for protection under the name Zaruchevye Natural Monument, and in 1996 the Novgorod Duma confirmed this decision.
It is surprising that after a little more than ten years, some “scientists” came to the conclusion: “there are no valuable tree species left in Zaruchevye from the time of Zheleznov, now there is a mixed, unkempt forest, there are no roads at all, so the natural monument is inaccessible to tourists. Destroyed and drainage system."
The officials also had a short memory, for they forgot about the Zaruchevye Natural Monument and gave the go-ahead to design a route through this territory, which is a violation of Federal Law No. 33-FZ “On Specially Protected Natural Areas.” Three years ago, on March 23, 2010 in Okulovka, at a public hearing on the EIA materials of the project “Construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg Expressway,” we made an official statement about the violation.” There was enough time to correct the error.
And here's the good news - the route will be moved!
However, there were grounds for doubt... And soon disappointment set in. General Director of ZAO Novgorodstroyproekt Dmitry Nasonov did not lie - the project has not changed . We considered two options, but they seemed expensive - a lot of bridges, etc.
Expensive. So this is how to count... History teaches that unconsciousness costs society much more. Again, no matter how naive it sounds, it is not good to violate the Law on Specially Protected Areas; criminal liability may follow for this.
We are turning to the prosecutor's office again - the public has no other option when the Law is violated.
But we consider it our duty to appeal to both ordinary citizens and journalists. Tell everyone about this outrageous situation.
Regional public organization "Novgorod Club "Ecology"
Okulovo district public organization "Club of Friends of the Valdai National Park "Borovno"