Support The Moscow Times!

Environmental Crimes Cost Russia $187M in 2018 – Prosecutors

Pixabay

Violations of Russia’s environmental protection laws cost the country more than $187 million in 2018, a reduction from previous years, officials from the Prosecutor General's Office said on Monday.

The 2018 figures represent a downward trend in environmental damage over the past decade, the state-run TASS news agency quoted Miroshnik as saying. Since 2009, damage from environmental violations approximately halved due to prosecutors’ efforts, he added.

“In 2018 alone, 12 billion rubles ($187 million) in damages from environmental crimes were recorded,” Prosecutor General's Office official Igor Miroshnik was quoted as telling reporters during a Russia-China roundtable in the Far East city of Khabarovsk.

The majority of violations affected the foresting industry, Miroshnik said.

Over the past year, the Prosecutor’s Office found 278,000 violations of environmental law and initiated criminal cases for 2,000 of these, TASS quoted Anatoly Palamarchuk, a senior official at the Prosecutor General’s Office, as saying.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more