Mikhailovka hosts rally against development of nickel deposits

On June 23, a rally against development of nickel deposits in the Voronezh Region was held in the township of Mikhailovka located in the Volgograd Region. The protesters demanded to repeal the nickel development project, because, in their opinion, it would entail a huge environmental damage.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt from Alexander Titov, Ataman of the National Cultural Autonomy (NCA) of Cossacks of the city of Uryupinsk, that the rally was organized by local Cossacks and the Mikhailovka local committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF).

The protesters held posters "No nickel on Khoper River!", "We didn't vote for nickel", and others. A stand was installed in the square with two rows of photos: the upper row depicted the green nature of the Khoper River, while the lower row demonstrated the consequences nickel development projects.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Alexei Ulyanov, a participant of the rally from Volgograd, in total, there were about fifteen hundred people in the square about a half thousand people. "Quite a lot of policemen and OMON (riot police) agents cordoned off the square – about 150-200 servicemen. The security measures were unprecedented," he said.

On May 22, it was announced that the right to develop the nickel fields was awarded to the Limited Liability Company (LLC) "Mednogorsk Copper-Sulphur Combine", a member of the LLC "UMMC (Urals Mining and Metallurgy Company)-Holding". This news provoked mass protests among residents of the Volgograd and Voronezh Regions.