Khimki forest and the M11 Moscow–St Petersburg toll motorway (km 15–58)

What happened

1. 2007Concession tender announced (24 Sep)
2. 2008NWCC named winner; Mikhail Beketov beaten (November)
3. 2009Concession signed (27 Jul); Vinci memorandum with EIB, EBRD and Vnesheconombank (30 Nov); government order transfers forest land (5 Nov)
4. 2010Supreme Court rules transfer lawful (1 Mar; in force 27 Apr); Khimki city hall attacked (28 Jul); Medvedev halts work (26 Aug); Beketov convicted of slander (10 Nov); commission recommends original route (14 Dec); Medvedev five-for-one statement (24 Dec)
5. 2011Independent environmental examination handed to Medvedev (1 Feb); compensation planting figures given (April); Khimki city hall verdicts (June)
6. 2013Beketov dies (8 Apr); Sherpa and others file complaint in France (24 Jun); Paris prosecutor opens preliminary inquiry (3 Oct)
7. 2014First 43 km section inaugurated (23 Dec)
8. 2016Complaint with civil-party status filed in Nanterre (May)
9. 2023ECtHR judgment in Varzhabetyan and Others v. Russia (5 Oct)
10. 2024Russian criminal case opened against Yevgenia Chirikova (16 Jul)
11. 2025Vinci’s exit from NWCC reported (25 Feb)

What was said

“a decision has been taken to plant five new trees for every tree felled”

“Our people, including representatives of the political parties. say that additional analysis is needed.”

“completely justified”

“700 hectares of forest will be planted, which fully compensates for the felling in Khimki forest (100 hectares)”

“meets the most exacting European standards in terms of technical requirements, environmental integration, land take optimisation”

“The project and its route were defined 40 years ago”

“We firmly condemn all forms of violence and harassment against individuals”

“is not involved in financing the first stage”

“There is no identifiable need for the motorway routing through the centre of the Khimki Forest”

“there is no body in Russia that would protect citizens' rights”

“the very fact that [Medvedev] stopped deforestation is a great victory”

“The extra trees will simply never be planted.”

“I regret that he did not live to see his attackers brought to justice.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

How it looked

Who gained

Responses on record

• Vinci (2011 and 2013): Rejects the allegations about its activities in Russia and is at the disposal of the courts (2013); condemns all forms of violence and harassment against individuals and said it advised AVTODOR to take all necessary measures to prevent violence (2011). · CEE Bankwatch
• Ministry of Transport (27 July 2009): Said the road would relieve the M10, serve Sheremetyevo and cut toxic emissions on the existing road 2–3 times, with air monitoring and compensation greening. · Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation
• Ministry of Natural Resources (April 2011): 700 hectares of forest to be planted, fully compensating the 100 hectares felled in the Khimki forest. · Rossiyskaya Gazeta
• Rosleskhoz (April 2011): Could not find a site for 500 ha of compensation planting; proposed scattered plots of 235.8 ha in Khimki, 10 ha in Krasnogorsk and 129 ha in Chekhov, or restoring 310 ha of burnt plantations in Orekhovo-Zuyevo (per Kommersant via altapress). · altapress.ru
• Moscow region governor Boris Gromov (December 2010): Called the December 2010 decision “extremely positive”. · The Moscow Times
• Rosavtodor (December 2010): Said it was delighted by the December 2010 decision (Moscow Times, citing Interfax). · The Moscow Times
• EBRD (May 2011): A spokesman said the bank was not involved in financing the first stage, that its interest in future stages was undiminished, and that it opposed the use of violence and expressed concern at excessive force against demonstrators. · CEE Bankwatch
• European Commission (2010): In a letter to an MEP, a Commission official wrote that the EIB and the EBRD review financing only on condition that the final project corresponds to their standards and requirements. · Werner Schulz MEP

In court and with insurers

Lawsuits and rulings

1. 2010–2010Defendant won
   Environmentalists v. Government of Russia (transfer of Khimki forest land)
   Supreme Court of the Russian Federation · Administrative · Environmentalists, including plaintiff Andrey Margulev, coordinator of the Union of Environmental Public Organisations → Government of Russia

   On 1 March 2010 the Supreme Court ruled lawful the transfer of about 150 hectares of the Khimki forest park under the order of 5 November 2009 and rejected the claim to annul it. The cassation appeal was rejected and the decision entered into force on 27 April 2010. Margulev said the government’s materials included a letter from the technical customer asking Rosleskhoz not to consider other route options. Radio Svoboda (RFE/RL)

2. 2010Overturned on appealRUB 0.01m fine; payment suspended under the statute of limitations
   Slander case against journalist Mikhail Beketov
   Khimki court · Criminal · Vladimir Strelchenko, mayor of Khimki → Mikhail Beketov, editor of Khimkinskaya Pravda

   On 10 November 2010 Judge Arkady Khalatov convicted Beketov of criminally slandering the mayor and ordered him to pay 5,000 rubles; payment was suspended under the statute of limitations. A higher court later overturned the verdict (date not given). Committee to Protect Journalists

3. 2008–No defendant left
   Investigation of the 2008 attack on Mikhail Beketov
   Investigative Committee · Criminal · Investigative authorities → Unknown persons

   In September 2010 the Investigative Committee said the probe was suspended for lack of suspects. CPJ reported that investigators failed to name or arrest anyone; an April 2023 report said no suspects had been identified. Committee to Protect Journalists

4. 2011Defendant won
   Khimki city hall attack, 28 July 2010: Alexei Gaskarov
   Khimki court · Criminal · Prosecution → Alexei Gaskarov

   Verdict reported 24–26 June 2011: acquitted, after about 90 people attacked the city hall building in protest against the highway. The Moscow Times

5. 2011Claimant won
   Khimki city hall attack, 28 July 2010: Maxim Solopov
   Khimki court · Criminal · Prosecution → Maxim Solopov

   Verdict reported 24–26 June 2011: two-year suspended sentence. The Moscow Times

6. 2023Claimant won
   Varzhabetyan and Others v. Russia (nos. 60851/12 and others)
   European Court of Human Rights · International court · Applicants, including one whose complaints covered a gathering for the protection of the Khimki Forest in Moscow on 17 May 2012 → Russia

   Judgment of 5 October 2023. The gathering of 17 May 2012 was punished with an administrative fine of RUB 500 (Presnenskiy District Court, 12 July 2012). The Court found violations including of Article 11. European Court of Human Rights

7. 2024–Ongoing
   Criminal cases against Yevgenia Chirikova
   Investigative Committee of Russia; a Russian court (arrest in absentia, April 2024) · Criminal · Investigative Committee → Yevgenia Chirikova, leader of the Movement to Defend Khimki Forest (moved to Estonia in 2015)

   On 16 July 2024 the Investigative Committee opened a case against her over military “fakes” (Article 207.3 part 1). Earlier cases concern participation in a terrorist community, calls to terrorism and financing terrorism; she was put on the wanted list and a court arrested her in absentia in April 2024. She is accused; no conviction is reported. Current Time (RFE/RL)

8. 2013–Outcome not on record
   Complaint against Vinci Concessions Russie and persons unknown (June 2013)
   French prosecutors (Paris prosecutor announced a preliminary inquiry on 3 October 2013) · Criminal · Sherpa, Russie-Libertés, CEE Bankwatch and MOBO Princip → Vinci Concessions Russie and persons unknown

   Filed on 24 June 2013; the complainants alleged offences under French criminal law concerning foreign public officials and influence peddling. Vinci rejected the allegations. CEE Bankwatch

9. 2016–Outcome not on record
   Complaint with civil-party status, Nanterre (May 2016)
   Chief investigating judge, Nanterre · Criminal · Sherpa, CEE Bankwatch, Yevgenia Chirikova and Mikhail Matveev → Not stated

   Filed in May 2016 concerning the award of the km 15–58 section. CEE Bankwatch and Sherpa

Insurers

What nature saw

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

What we don't know

Sources

Connected cases

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