A court in Adygea rejected the prosecutor's office's appeal against the construction of a waste landfill.
The Arbitration Court of Adygea rejected the prosecutor's office's claim that the construction of a landfill near the village of Kuzhorskaya, near Maikop, was declared illegal. Environmental activists have promised to appeal the court's ruling.
As reported by Caucasian Knot, in 2024, the Adygea prosecutor's office found falsifications in landfill construction documents. According to the supervisory authority, the documents authorizing the construction of the landfill near the village of Kuzhorskaya do not indicate that groundwater lies beneath the site. Local residents expressed concerns that the landfill will be built anyway.
On November 15, 2024, Adygea ecologist Valery Brinikh told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he had received a response from the republic's prosecutor's office regarding the construction of a waste landfill near the village of Kuzhorskaya. In the response (a copy is in the possession of "Caucasian Knot"), Deputy Prosecutor A. Beretar, in response to Brinikh's complaint, demands that the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Adygea A. Kerashev "take specific measures to eliminate the violations of the law and consider holding those responsible accountable."
Local environmentalists, who have been protecting the Lago-Naki plateau from development for several years, reported the Arbitration Court's decision today. According to activists, a water intake well is just 80 meters away. The Sarmatian aquifer, with a groundwater level of up to 36 meters, is located here. The water in this area would be enough to supply all of Maykop and nearby villages.
"But certain Adygea officials 'appropriated' federal billions to build a flawed water pipeline (water supply is interrupted in winter due to snow, and in summer due to dry rivers) from the Tsitsa and Pshekha rivers, over 100 kilometers long. And they ordered the construction of a landfill on drinking water 10 kilometers from Maykop," according to a report from the Telegram channel "LAGO-NAKI ZHIVI!"
Activists claim that when they dug the pit for the landfill, it immediately filled with water and turned into a pond. Attempts were made to pump out the water, but to no avail. If a landfill is built on this site, poisoned water will flow into underground drinking wells and wells in nearby villages.
"There will be an appeal regarding the landfill on drinking water. Valery Brinikh, Chairman of the Adygea All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, is working on this issue. The appeal is scheduled for June 30," environmentalists reported.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in February 2026, the Supreme Court of Adygea denied the Social and Ecological Union's lawsuit against the Republican Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning. The lawsuit concerned the preservation of protective forests, in which 9,950 trees are planned to be cut down for the construction of the Lagonaki ski resort.