The Prosecutor General’s Office agreed on compensation for logging in the Sochi National Park with Turyev Khutor Development LLC

“Kommersant” learned the details of the conciliation agreement concluded by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation and Turyev Khutor Development LLC (associated with Interros). The company leased the territory of the Sochi National Park, and in the summer of 2023, cut down 9 hectares of forests there for the construction of hotel complexes. The prosecutor’s office came to the conclusion that Turyev Khutor illegally “destroyed entire ecosystems” and estimated the damage at 2.5 billion rubles. However, under the terms of the agreement, the national park will receive only 100 million rubles, and the rest of the money will go to modernize healthcare and education organizations in the region. Environmentalists call this result “strange”, but recognize the importance of the precedent of financial responsibility of businesses for environmental violations.

Back in November, the Adler District Court of Sochi issued a ruling on the claim of First Deputy Prosecutor General Anatoly Razinkin against Turyev Khutor Development LLC). The trial for compensation for damage from illegal logging was held behind closed doors, but now Kommersant has the full text of the ruling at its disposal.

Let us remind you that Turyev Khutor Development LLC was created in 2022 (until May 2023 it was called Dolina Vasta Development LLC). According to reporting for 2022, almost 95% of the LLC is owned by the Cyprus company Interrosa Whiteliv Holdings. The ultimate beneficiary is Vladimir Potanin, who also owns the Rosa Khutor ski resort.

Back in 2022, the company leased land plots in the national park for 49 years – 1.2 million square meters. m in Krasnopolyansky forestry. The court’s ruling emphasizes that they “have the type of permitted use of ‘leisure (recreation)’.” But in the summer of 2023, environmentalists and social activists reported illegal logging on leased areas. “These were one of the last untouched territories with virgin forests and soils, but they got into it too,” Boris Tuniev, deputy director of the Sochi National Park for science, told Kommersant. “It is very difficult to assess the damage. Usually they only count how many trees have been cut down, forgetting about the priceless mosses and lichens and invertebrates in the soil. Recovery is not always possible.”

In October, the Krasnodar Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported that Turyev Khutor Development LLC was brought to administrative liability under Part 2 of Art. 8.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (violation of the procedure for cutting down forest plantations). Meanwhile, First Deputy Prosecutor General Anatoly Razinkin demanded compensation for damages through the court. “Despite all the restrictions on economic activity established by law on the territory of the national park… Turyev Khutor Development LLC committed targeted actions that resulted in the destruction of natural components,” the lawsuit says.

The supervisory agency reported that in June-July the company “completed clear-cutting of particularly valuable natural components (Caucasian fir, alpine maple, black alder, oriental beech)” on an area of ​​9.068 hectares. In addition, “illegal removal of the fertile soil layer was carried out on an area of ​​1.66 hectares.” According to the prosecutor’s office, logging was carried out for the construction of “buildings and structures for recreational purposes (apart-hotels, hotel complexes, premises for service personnel).” As the Prosecutor General’s Office emphasizes, the law prohibits “any form of logging on the territory of the national park for the specified purposes” – their placement is allowed “only in areas free of vegetation.” In addition, even sanitary felling is prohibited in the summer, since this is bird nesting season.

The lawsuit emphasized that Turyev Khutor did not have “all the necessary permits”: the company “did not receive the conclusion of the state environmental assessment regarding the design documentation of the named objects.” “Thus, society destroyed entire ecosystems for purposes the possibility of which from an environmental point of view has not been investigated, has not been confirmed in the manner prescribed by law, and has not been agreed upon by an authorized state body,” summed up Deputy Prosecutor General Razinkin, estimating the total damage at more than 2.5 billion rub.

The company entered into a conciliation agreement with the Prosecutor General’s Office. But according to its terms, the Sochi National Park will receive only 100 million rubles. They need to “develop and implement programs to compensate for the negative impact… caused by the implementation of the Turyev Khutor project and the subsequent operation of the infrastructure of the resort of the same name.” The rest of the money will go to “socially beneficial and public purposes.” “The implementation of the project to create and operate the year-round tourist and recreational complex Turyev Khutor leads to a significant increase in the load on the educational, medical and transport infrastructure of the region,” the definition says. Therefore, 2 billion rubles. will spend on the construction of a school-lyceum in Krasnaya Polyana for 1.1 thousand students with a “specialized ski department” and “infrastructure for training using advanced technologies of the Sirius educational center.” Another 150 million rubles. will go to “finance the research work of the headquarters” created by the regional authorities, Sochi officials and the same Sirius. And 309.8 million rubles. will be spent on modernizing the city hospital in Krasnaya Polyana and on building an ambulance substation and a “24-hour emergency room for at least 100 visits daily” in the village of Estosadok.

“For the first time, a company associated with Rosa Khutor has been found guilty of environmental violations, which, in turn, is the largest tourism player in this area and is constantly encroaching on the Sochi National Park,” says Mikhail Kreindlin, a member of the expert council on the reserve matter. A lot of this was achieved through public attention and publicity.” However, he is surprised by the distribution of funds within the framework of the reconciliation agreement: “The main amount is not spent on compensation for damage to the ecosystem. But if the damage had been compensated in the usual manner, then all the money would have gone to the federal budget, and it is unknown whether the national park would have received at least 100 million.”

Representatives of Turyev Khutor Development LLC, when asked by Kommersant about the terms of compensation for damages, said that they “had nothing to add to the court’s decision.” However, a source in expert circles familiar with the situation around the dispute believes that in this case, “as in all other cases of this type of claim, the defendant in the dispute agreed to the conditions set by the prosecutor’s office, which independently develops the direction of spending funds.” It was not possible to obtain a comment from the Prosecutor General’s Office by the time of publication.

“In this case, a precedent is worth more than money,” says Vsevolod Stepanitsky, Honored Ecologist of Russia. He agrees that the distribution of funds can indeed be considered “to a certain extent strange.” However, the fact that “such a large business company was found guilty of violating the environmental regime,” according to Mr. Stepanitsky, makes us hope that business representatives will think about the consequences of their actions “at least out of fear.” However, the ecologist believes that the risk of illegal activities in this area still remains, so “careful attention from the Ministry of Natural Resources” is required. The Ministry of Natural Resources told Kommersant that they are not familiar with the terms of the conciliation agreement. But the department sent letters to the region about the need to strengthen control over compliance with the special protection regime for the territory of the national park.

Polina Yachmennikova