Help save Chernevskaya Gorka from destruction — a unique ecological refuge.

The last remnants of nature are being destroyed before our eyes. We are seeing attacks on nature reserves — biological refuges far from cities, those hidden fragments of still-living ecosystems that we have left at all! And there are also attacks within cities themselves, near populated areas, where the last forests still defend the very right of the Human Being to Life. Troubling letters are coming from local residents all across the country, from people trying to defend the unfortunate fragments of living nature near their homes. But their voices are literally drowning in political collapse and social infighting, while our natural heritage is being destroyed behind the backs of a distracted society.

I received a letter from residents of the Moscow Region who are asking for help in protecting a piece of living nature. This concerns a local ecological refuge — the territory of Chernevskaya Gorka and Chernevskaya Polyana. A true emerald that holds back human pressure, protecting rare species of plants and animals, while at the same time serving as a connecting place where Nature and Human Beings meet. This wonder is located in the Krasnogorsk urban district, right near Moscow.

There is an amazingly gentle landscape here: the slopes of Chernevskaya Gorka descend along a large ravine toward the small Banka River, and the territory itself is known as a place of active recreation, where people ski and walk with their children. Local residents say that species listed in the Red Data Book live here, and the destruction of this territory will lead to their final death.

The situation is banal in its simplicity: big business is rushing to devour the remnants of living nature for the sake of short-term profit. They want to begin construction here, seize the natural territory, build it up and sell it off! And, of course, as has long been the custom in our country, officials, using the full power of the bureaucratic apparatus and the authority given to them, are diligently lobbying the interests of businessmen.

Money. Money. And once again, money. What do they care about protecting citizens’ health and their future? All we see are attempts to destroy the last fragments of once-living ecosystems; they are ready to roll everything into concrete, just to extract profit at any cost.

People have united together and are trying to stop this, desperately defending the natural refuge, protecting it and, at the same time, their own right to Life. I studied the problem and all the available information, and as far as I understand, the key conflict there is not simply over “some line” in a document, but over a change in the urban-planning status of the territory. The initiative group reports that the draft amendments to the General Plan dated April 18, 2024 provided for the transfer of Chernevskaya Polyana from recreational zone R5 to residential zone Zh1. Thus, after the transfer, around 100,000 m² of housing for approximately 3,700 people could appear there, and the changes affect both the meadow and the hill.

I was able to confirm the information: the website of the Council of Deputies of the Krasnogorsk urban district contains Decision No. 252/18 dated 26.12.2024, “On Amendments to the General Plan of the Krasnogorsk Urban District of the Moscow Region as Applied to Part of the Settlement of the City of Krasnogorsk.”

The local residents are truly admirable and are an example of how one must act in such a situation: they are using all legal methods to protect nature. Earlier, they even raised money and commissioned an ecological survey of the territory. According to the applicant, the organization “Verkhovye” identified Red Data Book plants and wetlands on Chernevskaya Polyana, and also concluded that the territory deserves the status of a specially protected natural area not only of local, but also of regional significance.

That is, once again: specialized experts CONFIRM that this territory is indeed a refuge for wild nature — a refugium — and should generally be recognized as a specially protected natural area.

But protecting nature will not bring money to our official, nor will it enrich the businessman “a hundredfold”! Why would they care about these “bugs and little creatures” if they can roll the refuge, together with Red Data Book species, into concrete? Simply drive heavy machinery over it and turn Life into the “concrete tomb” of yet another set of soulless apartment blocks, and then sell apartments to people on mortgages at sky-high prices.

For example, a large population of northern orchids grows here: the lesser butterfly orchid and the early marsh orchid, also known as the Baltic marsh orchid. For nature, this is of enormous importance! For local residents too. But for the bureaucratic machine serving the monster of capitalism, it means nothing. Nothing at all. They have probably never even heard such names, and if they did hear them, they would not understand anything.

Many such groups are tearing wild nature apart. For this purpose, they recently even adopted a separate law legalizing the transplantation of endangered species of plants and fungi — this is COMPLETELY ANTI-SCIENTIFIC — in order to seize their territories. In other words, officials on a national scale have created an anti-scientific legislative tool that now gives them the ability to appropriate natural territories if people argue that rare species grow there.

So what do we get?

This is not some empty lot within city limits. This is a complex natural landscape which, according to specialists, should generally be recognized as a specially protected natural area. There are also reports that there are wet areas and possible wetlands here, meaning that the territory has not only recreational, but also hydrological value: waterlogged and overmoistened areas retain water, feed wet meadows, and support habitats for orchids, insects, birds, and amphibians.

Most importantly, this land also has social value! The territory is used by residents for walks, skiing, volunteer cleanups, and public activities.

People have united and have not sat idle. They are using all legal means to protect their land! Ecological expert assessments have been conducted, public work has been carried out, and a website has been launched to protect Chernevskaya Gorka and Chernevskaya Polyana. Social media pages are being maintained, documents are being collected, and volunteer cleanups are being organized! And they are also enduring legal battles — people are submitting applications to agencies and departments and going to court.

This is great work! This is the labor of people who are standing up for nature and trying to stop its destruction. And if we ignore them, if we do not help, if we turn away from this trouble, we will never change anything, because exactly the same problems are happening all across the country right now, and everyone is left “one-on-one” with disaster.

Activists have prepared a document for the Prosecutor’s Office and are calling on people to submit it collectively in an attempt to stop the destruction of Chernevskaya Gorka. Let us help them and show that there truly are many of us: instructions have been launched on the “Green Page.” This will take only a little time from each person, but it will increase the chances of victory.

The instructions will be relevant for ten days from the date this material is published: from July 1 to July 10. Please take the time to help in this struggle for Life!

Green Page

I also ask everyone to spread this information as widely as possible. Do not think that such small problems are “insignificant and somewhere far away.” That is not true! Just as the fragments of once-living nature, torn apart and isolated from one another, are separated, so too are we today isolated from one another. Everyone is fighting for their own fragment, and it is high time to unite all of this into one global struggle for Life.

© PAVEL PASHKOV