Time to read: 9 minutes(s)

The house of environmental activist Elena Koltsova burned down in Yekaterinburg. She believes the fire was caused by her activities.

Elena Koltsova rescues endangered animals and plants, defends the Moscow Forest Park from being cut down to make way for the construction of Anton Shipulin's biathlon center, and tries to preserve the unique Malaya Zdohnya Lake and the phenological trail of scientist Bat'manov. She has made many enemies.

Little Zdokhnia

"I stood right in front of the chainsaw, protecting the orchid, and the workers were forced to stop. I asked them, 'Are you from Tajikistan or Uzbekistan? I'll buy you tickets home now, or call the boss.' The foreman arrived, took a photo of the plant, sent it to his superiors, and the felling was stopped," says Elena Koltsova, a short, middle-aged woman with wavy reddish hair. "Then specialists from the Botanical Garden came here and dug up the endangered orchids to replant them. But, unfortunately, only 15-20% of the time the plants survive the transplant, meaning most will die anyway."

Elena is a forestry specialist. She moved to Yekaterinburg in 2017 from the village of Baikalovo in the Sverdlovsk region. Since 2020, she has been actively involved in protecting the local environment, including the eight-kilometer hiking trail known as the "Batmanov Phenological Trail."

"Phenologist (a specialist in seasonal changes in nature) Vladimir Alekseevich Bat'manov created a bioclimatic map of the Ural region between 1928 and 1930, which later became a model for similar studies throughout the Soviet Union," explains Elena. "In 1921, he laid out a trail in the Moscow Forest Park, including fifteen observation points for seasonal changes and nine different biocomplexes. The route included raised bogs, peat bogs, and various forest types. Such a diversity of landscapes in such a small area is rare. And all of this is under threat from development."

Lake Malaya Zdokhnia is one of the most beautiful spots on the Batmanov Trail. This small body of water, surrounded by marshy banks where cranberries, cloudberries, and blueberries grow in abundance, is located within the city limits. The high-rise buildings of the neighboring Zelenyi Ostrov residential complex are reflected in its waters. The area surrounding Malaya Zdokhnia is home to endangered plants, including the Ural orchid (Neottiantha cucullata) and Fuchsian dactylorhizome, and water lilies grow in the lake itself. The surrounding landscape has remained unchanged since the Ice Age; even the dwarf polar birch grows here.

"Two years ago, local residents discovered endangered plants in Malaya Zdokhna. Last year, city activists collaborated with scientists to conduct a study of the lake. We submitted an application to the Ministry of Natural Resources to upgrade Malaya Zdokhna to the status of a specially protected natural area, but our application was denied, citing an irregularity in the document," Elena explains. "In June of this year, pine forest felling began for the construction of the Middle Ring Road, which is expected to connect all of Yekaterinburg's districts by 2045. After environmental activists reported that the construction was threatening rare plants, scientists from the Ural Branch of the Academy of Sciences visited the lake and confirmed the presence of endangered plants in the area. It was decided to halt the felling while the valuable plants were replanted. Now, you can see individual trees surrounded by ribbons, and at their roots, you can see the holes left by dug-up orchids. But after the transplant, I went to the lake and found about a dozen remaining plants. They didn't remove all the water lilies either—apparently, the Botanical Garden staff were too lazy to dig deep. What will happen to them next is unknown.

Athletes vs. Orchids

"In my hometown, Baikalovo, we take great care of our forests. We even started separating our trash earlier than Yekaterinburg. When I moved to the regional capital, I moved into a gardening community building in the Moskovsky Forest Park. Naturally, I wanted to explore the area where I lived. I started walking around the area and became fascinated with photographing plants. I loved being in the forest, but what upset me most was the enormous amount of trash in the park—I wasn't used to it," Elena recalls. "I met the city foresters and suggested we hold cleanup days. They agreed. Only one of them showed me an area of ​​the park I shouldn't enter. It turns out it's been given over to the construction of a biathlon complex."

The Moscow Forest Park, covering 343 hectares, is located along the Novo-Moskovsky Highway. Its core consists of forests preserved in accordance with the 1722 "Forest Preservation" directive issued by Vasily Tatishchev, the founder of Yekaterinburg. In the 1950s and 60s, the grounds were landscaped, paths were laid, and lighting was installed. On July 16, 2019, by decree of the regional government, 515 hectares of the forest park were removed from the specially protected area in order to clear some of the forest and build a new biathlon center named after 2017 biathlon champion and United Russia deputy Anton Shipulin.

"The Moscow Forest Park is home to flora and fauna listed in the Sverdlovsk Region's Red Book: the Siberian salamander, the Ural pasqueflower, the large-flowered foxglove, and the hairy lily. The same orchids also grow here. Furthermore, the 12th Kilometer memorial to the victims of political repression is nearby. Building a sports complex here is simply insane," explains Elena. "The location was chosen because the old Dynamo biathlon complex, built in 1934, is nearby. But I still don't understand this decision. They could have moved it, for example, to the Uktus Forest Park, part of which has long been used for sporting events."

In January 2021, activists collected signatures against the deforestation. In March of that year, public hearings were held, where authorities declared the land to be of no particular value. That summer, Elena held a solo picket in the central city square against the logging, but this produced no results. In May 2022, the complex's design received approval from a state expert review, and in April 2023, the state institution "Sports Training Center for National Sports Teams of the Sverdlovsk Region" posted a notice announcing the upcoming closure of the dirt road leading through the park to the SNT "Rabotnikov Kultury" (Cultural Workers' Non-Profit Partnership). The justification was that the area contained endangered species discovered by activists from the Moscow Forest Park.

"So, by mentioning us, the 'athletes' apparently wanted to create a rift between the activists and the summer residents. In any case, construction hasn't begun yet, rumor has it, due to a lack of funds. But no matter what happens in the future, we will continue to protect the park," says Elena.

"I now take a knife with me."

Elena Koltsova defends the Moscow Forest Park not only from developers but also from ordinary citizens who set up barbecues and grill kebabs. The eco-activist forces irresponsible citizens to turn away, threatening to call the police. And then there are the motorcyclists who roam the park's paths.

"The traffic cops don't pay attention to them, so I have to stop them myself," says Elena. "Once, I stood on the road with a log to stop a motorcyclist. He gave me two fingers, turned around, and deliberately drove through the plants growing along the side of the road. They all know me; they think I'm the local crazy one."

Another problem in the forest park is drug trafficking. The area serves as a hiding place for drugs.

"I was walking one night and saw three men digging under the trees. I was scared, I burst into tears from helplessness, but I went up to them anyway. I asked them to stop digging in the park and picking up plants. The men were aggressive, they needed a fix, and they told me, 'Tell the drug dealers not to leave their stuff here.' I moved on, and they stayed to finish their business," the activist recalls. "I called the police, but they never came. After that incident, an archaeologist friend gave me a gift—a homemade hunting knife. I've been carrying it with me ever since. God forbid, of course, I use it!"

"You're hitting a wall"

The Siberian salamander is a small amphibian resembling a ten-centimeter-long lizard with shiny gray-brown skin. Elena discovered a population of these endangered newts near her home, in a fire pond.

"I was once clearing a pond of duckweed and noticed these little sacs on the branches of the coastal plants—they were salamander egg masses," the activist says. "I invited a specialist from the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, and he confirmed that this was indeed the rare amphibian species."

Together with the Children's Ecology Center, Elena held a cleanup day to clean the pond. An amphibian expert gave a lecture to the children, and a sign was installed informing them that a rare animal lives in the pond.

"But I learned from the cadastral plan that the pond will be filled in to form the foundation of a high-rise building," the activist says with a sigh. "Sometimes it feels like you're hitting a brick wall. Rare animals and plants live right next to our houses, but no one cares."

According to Elena, the regional Ministry of Natural Resources is not fulfilling its direct responsibilities, but rather making money by permitting development and including natural sites in the tourism sector.

"We need some kind of public organization that could monitor the actions of officials. Something like an environmental police force. I'd be happy to work for such an organization," the activist is convinced. "Or invite commissions from other provinces and regions, because here we have cronyism rampant. You see people with the same last names on the list of ministries, and then you realize that the same names are not a coincidence at all."

"All that remains is life, health, and hope."

"I woke up to the sound of wood cracking and gas cylinders exploding—the neighboring house was on fire," Elena recalls. "Soon our roof caught fire, too. The fire spread very quickly. I grabbed my children—my 13-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son—and ran outside. All my belongings and documents, the entire house, were destroyed."

The fire broke out at 2:00 a.m. on August 13. The fence belonging to Elena's neighbor, her ex-husband, retired police colonel Vladimir Koltsov, caught fire first. The flames spread from the fence to tires stored nearby, and then to the wall and roof of the house. No one was injured in the fire, but all of Elena's belongings, computer, and documents were destroyed. Elena and her children are currently living in a garden house provided to her by neighbors in the "Uchitel" gardening community. Volunteers from the "Rapid Response Volunteers" movement, which conducts environmental campaigns and helps fight forest fires in the Sverdlovsk region, launched a fundraising campaign on their social media accounts for those affected by the fire. According to Elena, donations are coming in regularly.

Elena and Vladimir were convinced from the very beginning that their homes had been burned by arson. On August 27, fire investigators confirmed this, finding traces of gasoline at the fire site. Police arrested the suspect, 40-year-old Alexei Kalimulin, the day after the fire.

"I had a conflict with him back in July. He contacted me then and said he wanted to become the coordinator of the Cedars of Russia project, which plants trees across the country. As I understand it, Kalimulin, in an attempt to provoke me into a conflict, told me he was digging up endangered plants and selling them to luxury homes for landscaping. I told him it was a criminal offense, hung up, and blocked him everywhere. Then Kalimulin started messaging Ivan Sanzharov, the head of Cedars of Russia, threatening to rape me and drown me in the lake. The correspondence lasted two days; Ivan wanted to gather more evidence of the threats. I eventually filed a police report on July 22. But Kalimulin was only arrested after the fire. We later learned that this man was close to a motorcycle club that wanted to build a highway through the Moscow Forest Park," Elena explains.

On August 29, the activist learned that police had not taken Alexey Kalimulin into custody. Investigators questioned and released the arson suspect. Kalimulin's status in the case is currently unknown.

"This fire hasn't broken me. With the help of concerned citizens, I plan to rebuild a new house before the cold weather sets in, and, of course, I'll continue my environmental protection efforts," says Elena, adding with a smile, "All living things are more precious to me than any possessions. Things can be bought new, but rare species of animals and plants can be lost forever if we don't fight to preserve them."