Losiny Ostrov National Park — a chronicle of the destruction of its protected heart

When the destruction of nature happens in the heart of a country, it speaks to an extremely dire situation in the field of ecology. If we are not capable of protecting the last ecosystems even within the capital city limits—in Moscow—imagine how difficult it is to defend the remote corners of wild nature. After all, it would seem that if someone came to Moscow to destroy a refuge of wilderness, millions of people would surely rise to defend it!

But as it turned out, that is not the case. And the main trigger behind the destruction of the last ecosystems is the indifference of the majority.

Right now, the fight for Losiny Ostrov National Park continues—a priceless refuge of wild nature, a true anomaly if only because this living organism managed to survive within the boundaries of a megacity. There are vast numbers of Red Book species of animals and plants here, able to take shelter from millions of people and sustain their populations. The national park also performs protective functions for people themselves: it cleans the air and safeguards the health of local residents.

But the authorities of the Moscow Region have decided to destroy this treasured corner of wilderness—an многокilometer highway will be laid прямо through it (between Mytishchi and Korolyov). This will cut the reserve into two parts, disrupt the migrations of roe deer, moose, and other animals, and trigger the inevitable degradation of biocenoses. The project also предусматривает the felling of at least around 1,860 trees. This is a direct violation of Federal Law No. 33-FZ and Government Decree No. 769, which prohibit the construction of roads in national parks (unless they serve their protection).

But despite this, officials initiated Draft Law No. 157501, which is intended to legalize the highway by transferring the needed section of the park into an economic-use zone—that is, removing environmental protection restrictions.

The fight for an ancient forest

Local residents have launched a struggle to save “Losiny Ostrov,” but they are forced to resist with only small силы, and on top of that they face outright системное mockery. For example, the public discussion of the draft law on the government portal ended on June 25, 2025, and throughout that time people watched as lobbyists for the draft law brazenly ran vote-rigging, supposedly “in favor” of уничтожение the reserve. We recorded this personally: in just a few hours, votes would “suddenly” appear, and in the end there were 25,788 in favor of cutting down the ancient forest, and 12,415 against. Defenders of the forest watched the abnormal spike in real time, because it was precisely in the last hours (at night!) that at least 8,000 “for” votes appeared. Interestingly, later activists published information that even the number of page views was lower than the number of votes, which points to artificial boosting.

Nevertheless, the authorities did not respond and pushed the draft law further. They even began construction work without waiting for the draft law to be adopted. Heavy equipment was driven into the national park; aggressive masked men were hired to confront the public; and the police are being brought in to disperse dissenting residents.

The confrontation has escalated to physical violence: people are effectively being beaten (assaulted), taken away for reports and to court, and also hit with enormous fines.

History.

The very idea of building a road through “Losiny Ostrov” allegedly arose against the background of a lack of transport interchanges. But later, information emerged about plans to build huge multi-apartment residential districts within the boundaries of the reserve. That is colossal money—billions and billions in profit.

Plans to seize protected territories began to be prepared in advance. On December 6, 2023, the Ministry of Natural Resources divided the national park into two parts—Moscow and regional. The city part (within Moscow’s boundaries) went to the capital’s authorities, while the regional part (in the urban districts of Mytishchi, Balashikha, Shchyolkovo, and Korolyov) remained under the management of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.

As early as December 15, 2023, the Korolyov administration suddenly published a project for building a new highway through the park’s territory. They claimed there is some small clearing there and that the road would supposedly be laid right along it! Meaning the law on protected areas is not violated, because this is not the construction of a new road, but a “major repair” of an old one. However, in reality it was about building a new two-lane paved highway!

This news triggered the first protests. Already in January 2024, a group of 40 scientists—including six members of the Russian Academy of Sciences—sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin urging him to consider an alternative route обход the park. The country’s scientists and профильные specialists proposed an option without destroying the ancient forest: to build an overpass above the Podlipki-Dachnye railway station, which would solve traffic congestion and simultaneously preserve the protected forest.

The scientists emphasized that a road through “Losiny Ostrov” would cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem: it would split the forest massif, disrupt animal migration routes, and lead to their deaths on the road. A similar appeal had earlier been sent by the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (Chair of the Ecology Commission Elena Sharoikina)—she spoke категорически about the inadmissibility of building the highway through the national park and addressed a letter to the Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov.

However, the authorities chose a силовой option! They brought in the police, hired “men in masks,” and Governor Vorobyov personally stated publicly in December that construction of the highway would begin in the first half of 2025. He also earlier, at a meeting with the President on April 8, 2025, stated that if not by the end of 2025, then in Q1 2026 the road would be built in order to “free 250,000 people from the плен of traffic jams” (this is how he described residents of Korolyov and surrounding areas). At the same time, he “diplomatically” chose not to mention the route location.

Understanding that violating the protected regime could lead to lawsuits, the project’s lobbyists took the path of changing legal norms. The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation prepared a new version of the Regulations for Losiny Ostrov National Park, where part of the territory was transferred into an economic-use zone—that is, opened for the construction of roads, gas stations, parking lots, etc.

After the vote rigging, we demanded that the draft law be removed from consideration; among other things, we published data on how exactly the “boosting” was carried out, how technical manipulations are possible, and evidence of the abnormal appearance of votes on the draft law’s page.

Meanwhile, the offensive against the protected forest began. Already in the first days of July 2025, local residents recorded that construction machinery entered the forest from two sides at once: from Kaliningradskaya Street in Korolyov and from Vodoprovodnaya Alley in Mytishchi. Excavators and bulldozers operated without any permit documents, hiding behind the sign of that same “repair of an old road.”

Local residents formed brigades and began keeping watch, guarding the forest. On July 8, 2025, the first major clash occurred. I previously reported that groups of unknown masked men were pulled into the national park; they covered for the equipment and aggressively pushed local residents aside. They threw people to the ground and struck even women! But when the police arrived, none of them were detained; on the contrary, local residents were detained and taken away.

Thus, despite protests by local residents, statements by scientists, and a huge public outcry, the highway began to be built. No mechanisms work—just outright banditry: aggressive masked hired men, heavy equipment, vote rigging on draft laws, all for the sake of effectively seizing and destroying the protected Losiny Ostrov National Park.

We launched a public initiative to protect the ancient forest! Society is trying to save the park from destruction, but so far the situation is not changing for the better. Legally, the issue of building the road has not yet been resolved, changes to the park’s status have not been approved, but in practice trees are already being brazenly cut down and, under the pretext of repairs, the route is being pushed through.

Local residents continue to keep watch, run campaigns on social media, and try to stop this madness!

• Public initiative to protect “Losiny Ostrov”
• Link to the draft law on the destruction of the national park

Take part and help save the country’s protected-area system! The Russian Taiga has no one besides us—look at what is happening. This is the price of the silence of millions.

© PAVEL PASHKOV