May 21, 2023

Greenpeace Declared "Undesirable"


Greenpeace Declared "Undesirable"
Greenpeace action in Russia. greenpeaceru, Instagram

On May 19, the Russian General Procurator announced on Telegram that the environmental network Greenpeace International was declared an "undesirable organization," entirely banning its activities in the country. This decision comes after a history of friction between the Russian government and the Canadian-founded climate organization.

For 30 years, Greenpeace has worked in Russia on waste separation, protecting reserves and national parks like Lake Baikal, and fighting the wildfires in Siberia, among other actions and campaigns. But their fight against oil and gas extraction set off alarms in the Russian government. The country heavily relies on income from fossil fuels, as it is one of the world's top three petroleum producers. In 2013, 30 Greenpeace International activists in the "Artic Sunrise" ship, its crew, and journalists were arrested at gunpoint after campaigners attempted to scale Gazprom's Prirazlomonoe off-shore drilling platform.

After the war in Ukraine broke out, Greenpeace International preached "Peace, not oil." The organization has denounced EU imports of Russian oil, claiming it fueled President Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine. After being banned, Greenpeace said, "This misguided decision effectively indicates that it is 'undesirable' to protect nature in Russia."

 

You Might Also Like

The VIP Tour of Ukraine
  • April 28, 2023

The VIP Tour of Ukraine

In which our correspondent visits Irpin and Bucha, offering thoughts on publicity and redemption.
Russia is on Fire
  • May 18, 2023

Russia is on Fire

According to Greenpeace, 5 million hectares of Russian's forests are burning.
Screws are Tightening
  • April 12, 2023

Screws are Tightening

March has seen a serious tightening of the screws of repression by the Russian regime.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955