Glavgosexpertiza has approved the destruction of the protected Lago-Naki Plateau.

The long-suffering Lago-Naki Plateau: a natural heritage of humanity, a protected land being torn apart for profit! Perhaps the most tragic and revealing example of how the destruction of the country’s entire protected system began.

I was contacted by our allies who have been fighting for several years to defend Lago-Naki’s right to Life. They say that between the holidays, while the whole country was resting, our Glavgosexpertiza published information about the positive conclusion of the project documentation and the results of engineering surveys for the construction of the “Verkhnyaya Derevnya” hotel complex for the Lago-Naki eco-resort.

Let me first quote from the letter.

“Apparently, the experts were not troubled by the fact that hundreds of Red Data Book species of plants and animals inhabit this area, that there are dozens of underground cavities and cracks, that there are hurricane winds in winter, and on top of that, the soil is heavily dusted with radioactive cesium-137 – a real goldmine for budget exploitation by Adygea officials and their friends from a Cypriot offshore and contracting firms!”

“The territory under the ‘Verkhnyaya Derevnya’ project has been thoroughly studied in recent years by scientists, including those with global recognition, and by us. For example, most trees with Red Data Book lichens have been recorded with coordinates. These materials are formally documented in scientific articles and reports by staff from the Caucasus Reserve and the Botanical Garden of the Peter the Great Academy of Sciences. For every felled tree containing such species, someone will have to answer by law.”

These are the kinds of comments coming from defenders of the Lago-Naki Plateau. Our allies are right now continuing a difficult struggle for this protected land! But the forces are clearly unequal.

And ask yourself: does anyone really care about nature? How many people around you care about the environment, are ready to protect animals and plants? Where are the millions standing to defend the Russian Taiga?

No. We see only a few who truly dedicate themselves to this fight! That’s why many problems remain unresolved — there are too few of us.

Now let’s look in more detail at the issue with Glavgosexpertiza — what’s really going on.

On May 11, 2025, the Glavgosexpertiza portal published conclusion No. 01-1-1-3-024503-2025 — a “positive” assessment for the “Verkhnyaya Derevnya” hotel complex on the Lago-Naki Plateau.

I assume you won’t be interested in the technicalities — I’ve read the conclusion thoroughly, and it’s full of the kind of convoluted language our officials love. But I think you’ll definitely be interested in how they actually “evaluated” the project.

In fact, it’s all very typical — as things are usually done here: the developers presented the experts only with materials “convenient” for them. Including outright lies! For example, the data on wind load wasn’t taken from the plateau, but from Maykop, Dakhovskaya, and Guzeripl — which are located dozens of kilometers to the east and almost a kilometer lower in elevation! Moreover, the Glavgosexpertiza report does not mention the multiple underground cavities and cracks of the plateau, nor the “cesium spot” up to 620 Bq/kg of ^137Cs found in the soil after Chernobyl fallout. That is, we’re talking about radioactive contamination — I wrote a separate report on this!

Nor was there any mention of the hundreds of Red Data Book species recorded here by botanists and scientists from the Caucasus Reserve. Yet the state expertise sees a “problem-free” area and silently stamps it “approved.” That’s it.

This is either a defect of the governance system or a blatant and fully conscious crime in the interests of lobbying business structures.

Glavgosexpertiza of Russia is the body responsible for verifying project documentation for compliance with regulations. The expertise should have paid attention to the seismic danger of karst, wind loads, radioactive background, and nature protection measures. If significant factors were not considered, the experts had the right to reject the project! Literally, the salvation of the reserve depended on them.

It gets even more interesting when you study the chain of companies behind the project. The construction contractor is a company linked to offshore interests. Officially, the resort is being developed by LLC “Resort Investment” — a firm established in 2021 with a charter capital of just 10,000 rubles. The founders of this company are JSC “Krasnaya Polyana” (a well-known resort in Sochi) and LLC “Mantera.” Previously, the sole owner of the company was Vera Tonkikh — a person from the inner circle of former Kuban governor Alexander Tkachyov. Later, the list of founders changed, but the trail leads to a major player with a questionable reputation. “Krasnaya Polyana” itself has a trail of scandals, debts, and legal claims. According to media reports, the ultimate owner of this resort in Sochi for many years was the Cypriot offshore company Casterton Holding Ltd.

In other words, this is a classic offshore scheme — with a non-transparent ownership structure. We can only guess who the real beneficiary hidden behind the Cypriot firm is, and what “friends from the offshore” stand behind the whole project.

There’s no need to repeat much about the “commercial interests” — the figures vary, but we’re talking about at least 23 billion rubles. Naturally, the funding will come from the state, since the project is positioned as a public-private partnership.

So what do we have? Some “secret beneficiaries” are destroying our reserves while actively “developing” public funds and funneling them into offshore accounts? Or am I missing something?

To our allies on the Lago-Naki Plateau, I recommend holding the line on two fronts.

First, seek the initiation of a criminal case for falsification of engineering surveys — first of all, filing complaints with the Investigative Committee and Prosecutor’s Office, with broad public exposure. The chances are slim — so far we’re only managing to slow down the destruction of Lago-Naki — but every day won for the Life of the reserve is already a huge victory.

Second, launch an inventory of rare species: even every single tree with a Red Data Book lichen must be photographed, geotagged, and entered into a public register; this way, any logging will become provably criminal. The defenders of Lago-Naki are actively working on this as well.

We will support the cause and provide all necessary assistance! In the coming days, we will prepare a formal complaint with lawyers to the Investigative Committee, and we will separately send a formal inquiry to Glavgosexpertiza to record their official position.

From all readers, I ask for support — only genuine public outcry can help in this struggle for Life! Become the voice of wild nature.

For those who don’t yet know:

Lago-Naki is a high-mountain karst plateau covering about 800 km² at an altitude of around 2,000 meters above sea level, located in the Western Caucasus within the Caucasus Biosphere Reserve and included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Western Caucasus.” UNESCO emphasizes that the Lago-Naki Plateau ensures the outstanding universal value of the entire site: two-thirds of the vascular plant species are concentrated here, including many endemics, and the area also hosts an exceptional diversity of insects and other living groups.

Scientific studies have documented at least 807 species of higher plants on the plateau and the adjacent Fisht-Oshten massif, with nearly 64