Kremlin hearkens to Khimki forest preservation activists’ petitions

Russian President’s recent decision to suspend the construction of an expressway through the Khimki forest so as carry out additional hearings on the soundness of the decision to defrost this area was approved not only by the ecologists, but also by representatives of various public and political organizations.

Thus, commenting on the presidential decision, Russian Public Chamber member Vladimir Zakharov said the official order means that the authority has listened to the civil society that has been actively opposed to deforestation. “This speaks about its readiness to compromise between projects of economic importance and nature preservation.”