Part of the recreational area near the lake in the Novgorod region suddenly became a “natural protected area.” The official version is a poor ecological condition.

After the publication of an investigation into the luxurious real estate of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his mistress, former gymnast Alina Kabaeva on the shores of Lake Valdai, it suddenly turned out that part of the reservoir, on the banks of which the palaces are located, has become a “especially protected natural area.” Access there is actually prohibited, violators face a considerable fine and two years of corrective labor.

This was reported on the Meduza website.

On the official website of the Valdai National Park in the Novgorod region, a message appeared with the title: “Attention! Important information! It says that, according to the new order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia, the zone of specially protected natural territory (SPNA) within the park has expanded – this status has been acquired by part of Lake Valdai.

Territories with the status of protected areas can formally be visited “for the purpose of educational tourism.” But it is impossible to go beyond the boundaries of roads or special excursion routes in such areas. On the tourist map posted on the official website of the park, no routes along the lake itself are indicated, and in the official message on the expansion of the protected area zone, it is noted that “the presence of citizens” in the part of the park that has acquired a new status is prohibited.

For violation of the rules of protected areas, administrative liability is provided. For individuals – fines up to 4 thousand rubles, for legal entities – up to 500 thousand. Violation of the protected area regime is also punishable by the Criminal Code: for causing “significant losses” a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles and even two years of corrective labor is provided.

According to the official report of the Valdai National Park, the status of the territory had to be changed due to the “deterioration of the ecological state” of the lake. The ban on visits was introduced “in order to reduce the rate of its [lake] eutrophication” – the process through which the water “blooms”.

Many local residents and regular visitors to Valdai found the environmental justifications unconvincing. Indignant comments appeared on the park's official social media accounts and on a local forum. Many wrote that the new ban does not protect nature, but “Putin's dacha.”

Recall, earlier it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with a gymnast and probable mother of his children, Alina Kabaeva, live in a residence in Valdai and spend money from the Cypriot offshore Ermira Consultants, which is a “common fund” for the head of the Kremlin and his entourage.

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