https://www.marxist.com/russia-shiyes-ecological-protests-a-shining-example-of-workers-solidarity.htm
Russia: Shiyes environmental protests – a shining example of workers’
solidarity
Artyom Sandakov, 21 August 2019
Image: fair use
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We publish the following report, originally written in July by an
activist of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party from Northern Russia. It
concerns an ongoing struggle against attempts to illegally construct a
waste disposal site at Shiyes in Arkhangelsk Oblast, which would cause
grave environmental damage and risk the health of local residents. This
is an important development that has gained widespread support and
sparked protests across the country.
Perhaps several people in Russia, at some point, have come across
articles on the Shiyes protests or heard about them. Yet people still
ask: “where is it?”, “what is going on there?”, “why have I never heard
about it?”. To address some of those questions, I personally visited
Shiyes, and decided to produce an article on it. Of course, this is not
the only reason: Shiyes today is a good example to us all of how to
fight for our natural rights.
First of all, let us clarify the context and the background of the
Shiyes protests. Shiyes is a railroad station and hub connecting various
settlements across the North of Russia, located in the Lensky district
of the Arkhangelsk region, around 50 km from the Urdoma village and 23
km from the Madmas village (in the neighbouring Komi Republic). The
station and its adjacent ghost settlement (also called Shiyes) did not
attract much attention until recently; perhaps the only illegal activity
happening around those parts was unauthorised logging.
But in the summer of 2018, strange developments began around the
station. Construction vehicles arrived and began groundworks as well as
other building preparations. Rumours started spreading among the local
residents that the planned construction was for a solid waste disposal
site. Over the years there have been a spate of local protests in Russia
against the imposition of waste disposal sites. Suffice it to say that,
after the Moscow government failed yet again to find waste disposal
grounds for the city’s rubbish in the Moscow region and Central Russia –
due to the residents’ fierce and determined resistance – it struck a
deal with the Arkhangelsk regional authorities. The Moscow and
Arkhangelsk governments announced the construction of an
“eco-techno-park” in the region. The project was declared to be a waste
recycling plant.
However, the locals quickly became suspicious, as they realised that
what was being constructed at the Shiyes station was simply a solid
waste disposal site. The residents began to pressure the authorities to
demand some answers about the plans. Local bureaucrats, regional media
and federal TV channels responded with a propaganda campaign, claiming
that the construction of the waste site will not proceed, or that it
will indeed become a waste recycling facility.
But local people were not fooled by such crude disinformation, and they
were unanimous in their opposition to the waste ground project (except,
of course, for those who stand to profit handsomely from government
deals and contracts) and its consequent environmental and health impact.
Residents of the Arkhangelsk region and the neighbouring districts of
the Komi Republic have been protesting consistently from the summer of
2018. Street meetings, demonstrations and pickets characterised the
protests in the summer months of last year. However, the authorities
refused to yield to the demands, and the Shiyes resistance has
increasingly radicalised in its outlook and methods. By the time of
writing [July], the so-called Shiyes Watch – a permanent camp organised
by the local protesters directly by the construction site – has been
actively maintained and staffed for over half a year.
Militant and well-organised struggle
I visited this camp as an activist of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party
from my hometown of Ukhta (Komi Republic). The Northern railroad goes
from Ukhta directly to Shiyes and takes around six hours. As the train
conductor told me, “the station only works for the protesters. No other
reasons to stop here”. Of particular interest was the social outlook and
characteristics of the protesters gathered here. Upon my arrival, I met
regular workers who care about their land, their region and their
country. People from all over Russia had gathered there to protect their
land from being poisoned and their health from being ruined by the
poisonous smog and other emissions spreading over the North.
I did not know much about the Shiyes Watch, and was impressed by their
high level of organisation. First of all, the activists’ presence was
dispersed all around the locations where the construction site posed the
most immediate environmental threat. In particular, the protesters were
concentrated next to the Shiyes station itself, by the Urdoma border,
and the areas surrounding railroad tracks. This way, the activists were
tactically placed to maintain a number of important “posts” on a 24/7
basis. Some of these posts are tellingly code-named “Leningrad” and
“Stalingrad”. Secondly, almost all of the activists are equipped with
walkie-talkies and are able to maintain efficient communication, despite
the fact that the area has no mobile phone service. And thirdly, the
organisation of living conditions in the camp is outstanding. Every post
has fires, electricity generators, tents and food storage. One even has
a Wi-Fi internet connection! Food preparation is well-coordinated, and
portable heating stoves keep the insides of tents actually hot, despite
the harsh northern climate.
The protesters’ resistance is characterised by skill, strength and
radicalism. Their radical methods stem from the understanding that the
construction of the waste site in the area is illegal, and the
confidence that they are fighting against the arbitrary lawlessness of
the government. Their actions in preventing construction are perfectly
legal and peaceful. Once any movement of construction vehicles or
attempted delivery of building materials is spotted onsite or by the
Shiyes station, the protesters gather at the location concerned and
frustrate the actions of the construction workers and the private
security company; they record and document all violations, and call the
police to the site. This has fully frozen all construction for the past
several months.
The activists are also joined by a contingent from the neighbouring
Urdoma village, who also maintain their own watch on the Urdoma-Shiyes
border. Some of the tactics employed by the workers include forming
human shields to block the movement of gas tankers and construction
material supplies. Both the Shiyes and the Urdoma protesters fully
intend to defend their land to the bitter end. When they are told in
Urdoma: “We will run you over!”, they reply: “Go ahead!” When they are
told on Shiyes: “We will beat you!”, they reply: “Fine!” There is
widespread solidarity and support across wider society, with the
perception that truth is on the protesters’ side.
It is also quite notable that the Shiyes issue has even caused rifts
within the state apparatus and its armed bodies of men. The Ministry of
Natural Resources appears to be gradually moving to the side of the
protesters and towards making a case against waste site construction.
Furthermore, the police have occasionally taken actions contrary to the
interests of the construction companies, such as in a recent episode
where police officers arrested a vehicle carrying a gas delivery, headed
for the construction site, thus acknowledging that the construction
works are illegal. 17 people left the local security organs as a direct
result of the Shiyes-Udoma clashes.
The first and most important of the protesters’ demands is to stop the
construction of the solid waste site. The second is the resignation of
the governor of Arkhangelsk region, Igor Orlov. The third is the
resignation of the government and the president of Russia. Not all the
protesters actively support the latter demand, but a significant
contingent does, and such moods are widespread. The Shiyes movement has
enormous perspectives and potential. The sheer experience and skills
gathered by activists from across the country in Shiyes will contribute
to further protests, be they against waste disposal in the Komi Republic
or for the resignation of the government. Such experienced activists
will prove valuable among the much-needed, strong, radical leadership in
the upcoming events – and in a broader revolutionary perspective.
Socialism the solution to climate catastrophe!
The crisis of the capitalist system is marching across the globe with
giant strides, and Russia is no exception. The skeleton of workers’
protest is beginning to grow meat around it, as strikes become more and
more frequent. And this crisis could not have but affected Russia’s
political reality today.
The diminishing confidence and the ruling party’s falling ratings in the
polls – along with that of the president personally – and the upsurge of
opposition parties and movements are all characteristics of the present
reality of Russian politics. It is against this background that the
issue of environmental protests – previously rather low on the agenda of
most ordinary Russians – has become one of the most important issues
around which the people of Russia will stand, seemingly until the end.
Protests in solidarity with Shiyes across Russia are growing in size,
especially in the North of the country. Shiyes has served as a great
inspiration for local action, with people across the country organising
their own local waste sites monitoring.
Shiyes protest2 Image fair use
The Shiyes protest has seen a big response across the country / Image:
fair use
It would be misguided to declare that the Shiyes protests are inherently
“leftist” or “socialist”. They possess a revolutionary spirit, but they
also remain a primarily environmental protest. Of course, the political
side is strongly present, especially among the demands, but it is hidden
under eco-problems. There is even a small echo of right-wing ideas about
the “purity of the Russian North”, for example. But we must understand
the material reality of the protest movement, its nature and its
complexity. And we must certainly reject the sectarians who proclaim
that we should “only support clearly left-wing protests”. Today, in the
era of indiscriminate reaction, our mission as communists is to be in
the midst of popular protests to explain the perspectives from a Marxist
point of view. The working class knows how and where to move, and it
will learn through experience. Our task is to be with the working class,
to extend its outlook and impress the Marxist perspectives and demands
upon the developing revolutionary movement, and to be in solidarity,
shoulder-to-shoulder with the class, sharing the weight of historical
responsibility.
We as Marxists believe that the solution to environmental destruction is
achievable only by one means – the destruction of capitalism. The
achievement of workers’ democracy, a planned economy and workers’
control over the environmental policies are the necessary instruments
for the restoration of environmental balance. These perspectives must be
explained to the activists, who often fully understand that the protests
are not simply environmental but political in nature, but have not yet
necessarily arrived at the conclusion that the answer is socialism.
Thus, to raise the red flag over environmental protests is a crucial
task for communists across Russia today. The Shiyes protesters – their
determination and dedication to the cause – are a shining example for
the struggles of the working people across the rest of Russia, and the
experience obtained by these activists could be crucial in future
revolutionary developments.
Long live the strike!
Long live the Shiyes protesters!
Long live socialism!
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David Hume
“ In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees
of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral
evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence. ”
― David Hume,