University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Table 4: Civil Society Interest Groups
Category Interest groups Details
Individual
citizens and
indigenous
tribes
Formally
organised
groups
representing
affected
communities
Individual members of
affected communities
(e.g. of settlements of
Turukhansk,
Tutonchany, Tura,
etc.) and affected
indigenous tribes (e.g.
the Evenks)
Evenkia Life – the
official newspaper of
the Evenkia municipal
district
Novaya Gazeta (New
Newspaper) – a
national newspaper
Russian Association of
the Indigenous
Peoples of the North
(RAIPON)
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In 2008 the inhabitants of the village of
Tutonchany signed a petition against the
EHES addressed to the head of the
Evenkia municipal district, and the
provincial and federal governments.
Participated the RusHydro public
consultations about the project. In March
2009 the Third Conference of Evenks of
Russia expressed full support for the
petitions of the social organisations
(below) to the federal government against
EHES.
The newspaper is not technically a social
organisation. However, Evenkia Life has
been functioning as an information
distribution portal for such organisations
as For the Future of Evenkia. Its approach
is distinctly anti-RusHydro.
Novaya Gazeta is widely recognised as
one of the last remaining outposts of free
press in Russia. It is active in publicising
human rights abuses and other violations
by the government and its agencies
(police, army, government-owned
businesses) in Russia. Over the past two
years, the publications produced several
publications criticising the EHES project.
RAIPON includes dozens of indigenous
groups of the Russian north. Together
with the environmental organisations
listed below, it wrote and sent petitions to
Russian federal government, various
financial institutions, RusHydro itself,
potential subcontractors, and to SNC-
Lavalin, asking not to support, finance
and participate in the EHES project. The
petitions outlined various negative
environmental and social events of the
project and sited UN conventions and