Police in Moscow began detaining residents who had gathered to protest the clearing of a forest near the Medik Stadium in the city’s Kuntsevo District late on May 24. Footage from the scene shows security officers detaining a woman who had been filming police on her phone. Witnesses said several people were detained, including some of the most active opponents of the construction project, according to a report by RusNews.
The arrests began after Alexei Alexandrov, prefect of Moscow’s Western Administrative District, arrived at the site. In a video, he tells residents: “A military facility is being built. What else do you need to know?” He added that the works would be completed within the next seven to 10 days. Residents said they still had not been shown documents or permits for the tree cutting.
More than 100 residents of Kuntsevo and other Moscow districts gathered near the Medik Stadium on May 24, demanding a halt to the cutting of trees in Moskvoretsky Park, a large protected green area in western Moscow. RusNews and activist Alexander Kupriyanov covered the protest. According to RusNews, residents, workers, district officials, and police linked the work to Russia’s Defense Ministry. The ministry has not publicly commented on the reports.
The start of the deforestation was first reported May 23 by the Kuntsevo Residents’ Community on Telegram. The group said heavy construction equipment and workers with chainsaws arrived in the morning at the forested area near the stadium. Residents said trees were being cut down, construction debris was brought in to reinforce a road, and the entrance to the forest was later paved. They said signs for Avtodor, Russia’s state road-building company, could be seen on the fencing, and that traffic police officers were present at the site.
On May 24, Kupriyanov said he joined forces with a group of locals, trying to stop what he called “[an] illegal forest clearing in Kuntsevo, allegedly for the needs of the Defense Ministry.” He said no documents were available at the site; that workers kept redirecting locals “from one supposedly responsible person to another,” and that one worker used physical force against one of the demonstrators. Kupriyanov said the works were suspended and that residents demanded police draw up an inspection report at the scene.
Local residents have filed a collective complaint with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and are collecting signatures against the clearing. They said a forest strip had been completely cut down and partly paved over within two days. Russia’s Defense Ministry has not commented on the incident or the alleged construction plans.
