Who poisoned Monkey – Kommersant Kazan

The Tatarstan authorities plan to liquidate the village of Martysh, which has been known since the 17th century. She found herself in the sanitary zone of the expanding Nizhnekamsk industrial hub. The land, the Monkey River and the springs from which the residents drank were polluted. By now the village is empty: the officials have resettled everyone. “I hope this is not Chernobyl?” — asked the deputies of the State Council of Tatarstan, who will have to make the final decision on the abolition of the village.

The Tatarstan State Council Committee on State Construction and Local Self-Government approved a draft law on the abolition of the village of Martysh in the Tukaevsky district of the republic.

At the meeting, the head of the executive committee of this district, Airat Khabibullin, told the deputies: the village is part of the Ishteryakovsky rural settlement and is located in the upper reaches of the Martyshka River, just 1.5 km south of the industrial sites of the enterprises of the Nizhnekamsk hub.

In 2008, village residents began to complain about the pollution of the Monkey River with chemicals.

Officials carried out tests: the excess of formaldehyde in the air was recorded by 4.5 times, phenol by 2.7 times, ethylbenzene by 22 times, and acetone by 1.4 times. Exceeding the standards was also revealed in the river itself: for ammonium ion – 3 times, nitrites – 1.5 times, phenols – 6 times, formaldehyde – 1.4 times.

An excess of toluene and petroleum products was found in the soil. The springs used by the residents were polluted. “The source of pollution of water bodies has not been determined,” Airat Khabibullin reported on the findings of a special commission, which included representatives of environmental services. He added that at that time there were almost 40 enterprises in the Nizhnekamsk industrial hub.

In the same year, the authorities completed defining the boundaries of the sanitary protection zone of the Nizhnekamsk industrial hub. “The settlement of Martysh entered the boundaries of the sanitary zone,” stated Mr. Khabibullin. In 2010, the Presidium of the State Council of Tatarstan ordered to “accelerate the resolution of the issue of relocation of residents,” since a new Taneko oil refinery was being built nearby (the first stage was commissioned in 2011).

According to Airat Khabibullin, most residents were moved to new housing in 2013. Some residents received monetary compensation.

As a result, now no one is registered in the village of Martysh, citizens do not own land plots or buildings here.

In 2022, public hearings were held in the Ishteryakovsky settlement: it was decided to abolish the village. He was supported both in the local council and by deputies of the Tukaevsky district.

“Since there are no residents, what questions can there be?” – Member of the State Council Committee, United Russia member Nikolai Rybushkin proposed to support the bill on the abolition of Martysh. However, his colleague Rimma Ratnikova decided to make sure: “As of today, there is no one left there?” Airat Khabibullin replied that in recent years the village had already been “half-abandoned”: “They took all the things, took away everything they could.”

“You said ‘the source of the pollution has not been determined’ – it sounds very strange,” continued Ms. Ratnikova. “Is it really impossible to do anything?” – she was surprised. “The most important thing, you know, is to punish at least the one who pollutes for this,” Nikolai Rybkin supported her.

Committee Chairman Albert Khabibullin (also United Russia) asked whether there was a threat to other populated areas

But the head of the executive committee assured that other villages were not included in the sanitary zone.

“Are there any shared lands around this village? Growing crops in what condition?” — the head of the Communist Party faction and deputy chairman of the committee, Hafiz Mirgalimov, joined the discussion. “What is the next village to be resettled?” – he asked.

The communist recalled that the Tukaevsky district is “under the influence of KamAZ, a metallurgical plant, a landfill, and on the other hand, Nizhnekamsk with such emissions.” “So you didn’t look hard enough to find out where the pollution came from. There are environmental assessments!” – he was indignant. “The main thing is that they made the decision to take it and resettle it. Where is the source? – asked Mr. Mirgalimov.

He was supported by Rimma Ratnikova: “Even if you’ve been resettled, you still need to look for the source.” “It’s also easier, but what should I look for there?” – Khafiz Mirgalimov answered her.

Albert Khabibullin reminded the deputy of his role: “With our resolution we state a fait accompli – in principle, the settlement as such has ceased to exist. And we must vote for it.” The head of the committee noted that “15–20 years have passed since this story happened.”

He believes that now “manufacturers, and especially the chemical complex, are ultimately responsible for the state of the environment around them”

Pollution issues, he said, should be discussed by another parliamentary committee.

Hafiz Mirgalimov began to wonder what happened to the cemetery of this village, whether there was some kind of memorial stone, that there was such a settlement. “I will be against it, I will speak at the session,” he promised. According to the communist, this is “not just one example.” “If you count how much we have abolished for various conditions, and here… environmental. We don’t know where the pollution came from – they took it and eliminated it,” he emphasized.

Mr. Khabibullin agreed: the wording that the source of pollution had not been found “hurts the ear.”

“The land has been reclaimed. Does something grow there later?” — Rimma Ratnikova began to worry. “Potatoes grow there, a kilogram at a time…” Mr. Rybushkin answered her.

“I hope this is not Chernobyl?” – Mr. Khabibullin was scared.

But the other panelists told him, “No.”

“You can’t live, but everything grows…” summed up Hafiz Mirgalimov. In the end, he was the only one who voted against the abolition of the village of Martysh.

Kirill Antonov