Another victory in our struggle for Life!

Through incredible effort, together we stopped the adoption of bill No. 962708-8, which would have legalized the direct destruction of any nature reserves in Russia in the interests of big business. They tried to push it through in different versions seven times in a row, and each time society managed, with great difficulty, to repel this madness. It is very revealing how fiercely and shamelessly lobbying groups profit from the destruction of nature.

I often hear people say that fighting is useless. This is the wrong state of mind. Imagine if your immune system said, “I will no longer fight problems, suppress infections, or detect viruses” — and then shut down completely. When this happens, the organism dies in agony. It is even worse when the immune system begins to attack itself, consuming the remains of those defense systems that are still capable of fighting.

Let us make sure that the immune system of our society does not fail. Today, I thank everyone for taking part in the Public Initiative against bill No. 962708-8 and confirm that it has finally been withdrawn from consideration. Now we have our next task: to oppose new threats, including the next attempt to destroy the country’s protected-area framework.