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Bellona – St. Petersburg was a branch of the Norwegian environmental rights organization Bellona Foundation.
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| Company type | NGO |
|---|---|
| Industry | Environmentalism and environmental rights |
| Founded | April 1998 |
| Headquarters | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
Area served | Russia |
Key people | Alexander Nikitin |
Number of employees | 17 |
| Website | www.bellona.ru |
The St. Petersburg office of Bellona Foundation (ERC Bellona) was founded in April 1998 following the trials of such activists as Fedorov–Mirzoyanov, Nikolai Shchur, and Alexander Nikitin, who had begun to distribute information about environmental threats and were being persecuted by the very agencies responsible for causing these threats. ERC Bellona was located in the center of St. Petersburg, on Suvorovsky Prospect.
ERC Bellona's stated goals were to protect the right to unspoiled natural resources and reliable environmental information.[1]
History edit
The branch's mission statement was to "defend the right to unspoiled natural resources" in Russia. Bellona St. Petersburg had three major goals detailed on its website.[1] The first goal, termed their "legal direction," was concerned with extending legal help to Russian citizens in defense of the right to unspoiled natural resources. The second goal, their "informational direction," aimed to increase awareness of environmental safety law through its website and quarterly magazine, Ecology and Law. The third goal, their "expert assessment direction," aimed to provide expert assistance on energy safety.[1]
Each year, ERC Bellona would carry out at least five different projects, the results of which were published on its website in the form of annual reports.[1]
The organization closed its offices in Russia in November 2022, citing the war in Ukraine as a major reason for the closure. The activities of the St. Petersburg office have been moved to Vilnius, Lithuania.[2]
Staff edit
The staff of ERC Bellona consisted of permanent employees, part-time personnel, and volunteers. Some staff members include:
- Alexander Nikitin, Council Chairman of ERC Bellona's Director's Board
- Yuri Schmidt, attorney, council member of ERC Bellona's Directors Board, president of Lawyers for Human Rights
- Nikolay Rybakov, executive director of ERC Bellona
External links edit
- ERC Bellona – St. Petersburg
- Bellona Foundation – website in English, Norwegian and Russian
- Ecology and Law – quarterly magazine (in Russian)
- "Ecologists: 10,000 Tons Of Waste Headed for City". The St. Petersburg Times
- YouTube video – Bellona activists measure radioactivity and protest near barrels of uranium waste in St. Petersburg.
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Bellona – St. Petersburg - Bellona". Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
- ^ Digges, Charles (27 November 2022). "Bellona closes its offices in Russia". Bellona.org. Retrieved 4 April 2024.