Newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" reports that in this hunting
trip the Prince of Monaco was accompanied by the Presidential Envoy
to the Siberian Federal District of Russia, Anatoly Kvashnin.
Russian law forbids any hunt within the borders of a nature
preserve. Besides, as follows from the Hunting regulations of the
Irkutsk Region, no deer hunt whatsoever is allowed in August in the
whole of the region, let alone high conservation value areas.
Illegal hunt, especially in a nature preserve, is a penal act,
which is clearly stated in Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the
Russian Federation.
Some mass media outlets also reported that the hunt actually
took place in a certain "protection" or "buffer" zone, however,
according to the Federal Service for Environmental Supervision of
the Russian Federation (Rosprirodnadzor), the Baikalo-Lensky Nature
Preserve has no such zones.
Based on this information, Greenpeace Russia filed a complaint
to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and
Rosprirodnadzor asking to carry out an investigation into this
matter and punish those responsible for this severe violation of
law.
"It is very likely that in such a manner the Russian
authorities have hastily thanked the Sovereign of Monaco for his
support of holding the Winter Olympic Games of 2014 in the Russian
city of Sochi. If this is the case, the government officials
probably decided not to inform Albert II about such a trifle as the
existing legislation being violated. As the recent developments
around the Sochi Olympics have demonstrated, neither governmental
agencies nor large private companies see violation of both national
and international law as anything bigger than a trinket unworthy of
mentioning", said Mikhail Kreindlin, Coordinator of the High
Conservation Value Areas Program of Greenpeace Russia.
It is also important to underline that the decision of His
Sovereign Highness (together with other members of the
International Olympic Committee) to support the idea of holding the
2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi might have given a start to
destruction of another World Heritage site in Russia as some of the
venues necessary for the Olympics will be located in highest
conservation value areas of the Sochi National Park (Grushevy
Ridge) and in the buffer zone of the World Heritage property
"Western Caucasus".
According to the information available today, the Russian
authorities are considering extraction of lands of the Caucasus
State Nature Biosphere Reserve proper that is a part of the Western
Caucasus World Heritage site, to start construction of a part of
the bobsleigh route.
"We sincerely hope that His Highness as an IOC member and
bobsleigh professional will use all of his reputation and influence
to urge the Russian government to consider alternative locations
for the Olympic venues and exclude the Grushevy Ridge and the
buffer zone of the World Heritage site "Western Caucasus" from
areas where venues for Winter Olympics 2014 are to be built", said
Andrei Petrov, Greenpeace Russia's World Heritage Program
Coordinator.
Additional information.
At the presentation of the Sochi bid at the 119 session of the
International Olympic Committee in Guatemala-City, the Price of
Monaco asked the Russian delegation a question regarding possible
environmental consequences of the Winter Olympics in Sochi. He did
not get any answer, though.
Mass media outlets report, the voyage of the Prince of Monaco
through Russia was organized after he had finally supported Sochi
in its struggle for the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
ITAR-TASS also informs that at his meeting with the Prince of
Monaco in Saint-Petersburg on August 12, President Putin "thanked
Albert II who is a IOC member, for supporting Sochi as a
candidate-city to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2014".