Hello!

I’m Maksim Polyakov, a correspondent for the online magazine 7x7. In my final 2024 newsletter, I reported on the environmental disaster in the Black Sea, where two tankers carrying fuel oil sank near the town of Anapa. One of the vessels was washed ashore, and fuel oil continues to spill from it. Thousands of volunteers from across the country have arrived in Krasnodar Krai to help. Initially motivated by the hope of protecting nature, many are now voicing criticism of the local authorities. In this newsletter, I’ll explain why volunteers and activists are dissatisfied with how the disaster response is being handled.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

What Has Changed in Two Weeks

January 15 marks one month since the tankers sank. In that time, more than 6,000 volunteers have participated in relief efforts, over 3,300 birds have received treatment, and vast areas of sand have been manually sifted. However, the tankers remain at the site of the incident. Specialists from state organizations have erected barriers to prevent the spread of fuel oil, but as long as the tankers stay in the water and contain oil, the leakage will persist. Officials have tentatively promised to remove all the fuel oil by the end of January.

The first major scandal involving volunteers occurred last week. Officials visited a bird rescue center and demanded that the premises be vacated within 20 minutes — requiring the evacuation of all birds, documents, and equipment. The alleged reason for this order was that the center was disrupting the operations of other establishments in the same building.

Volunteers began filming videos, documenting the center’s closure, and exposing the officials’ rude behavior. Thanks largely to the publicity, the facility was saved. The next day, authorities reversed their decision and allowed the center to reopen in the same building.

Meanwhile, pro-government organizations continue searching for a female volunteer who bravely recorded the sudden evacuation of the bird rescue center at night and spoke about the situation on camera. According to the volunteers, individuals they describe as “paid commentators” are spreading rumors that the woman in the video is a provocateur who only visited the center to create scandalous content.

"We assert that this is blatant defamation. This woman worked eight-hour shifts alongside younger specialists. We urge people to share this information and protect the activist from these attacks and the machinations of ill-wishers," the volunteers said.

Following this incident, officials have prohibited volunteers from filming videos at bird rescue centers without prior permission.

The largest volunteer coordination chat has been rapidly losing members. Just a few days ago, it had 101,000 subscribers; now, only 98,000 remain. Activists believe that individuals who criticize the authorities are being removed from the chat.

Volunteer Testimonies

Volunteers are searching for efficient ways to remove fuel oil from the beaches. One such method involves using expensive nets, which activists purchase themselves, along with protective gear against fuel oil fumes and other necessary items. Below are the stories of those who dedicate their free time to saving animals and birds.

Ekaterina Sadrieva, a clothing brand creator from Anapa, wrote that she hoped declaring the state of emergency and allocating 1.2 billion rubles to the disaster response would actually make a difference. She also imagined that “many, many strong men in uniforms from all across our big country would arrive, so that me and the other girls could finally get some rest.” However, the reality turned out to be much different.

• "There are volunteers everywhere — so many of them. They come at their own expense, pay for their own accommodations, and independently travel to cleanup or bird-washing sites. In most cases, meals and essential supplies are also provided by the volunteers themselves.
• “At the same time, we’re facing a critical shortage of people. Many volunteers are burned out, exhausted, sick, or have left for the holidays. We desperately need more people!”
• “There are countless birds covered in fuel oil. Many animals die before receiving any help, and even among those treated, the survival rate is very low.”
• “We’re dealing with two ticking time bombs: parts of the sunken tanker that still contain fuel oil. It’s impossible to extract, isolate, or seal them. For now, the cold temperatures keep the oil inside, but once the air and water temperatures rise, it will spill into the sea.”
• “There is also a significant amount of oil settled on the seabed, which will resurface as the temperature increases.”
• “Storms continue to wash the oil back onto the shore repeatedly."

Illustrator Nastya Yakovleva, originally from the Urals, had never been to Anapa before. She traveled to volunteer from Sochi, where she is spending the winter. Together with another volunteer, Nikolay, Nastya discovered a dead dolphin in the sea, its skin encrusted with fuel oil. Other volunteers located the bodies of dolphins by following crows circling over their prey. “It feels like this is just the beginning. Either I’ll return there, or I’ll be needed in Sochi if the oil reaches the city,” Yakovleva concluded.

Dmitry Sannikov, a car blogger and entrepreneur from Moscow, apologized to nature on social media and shared that he went to Anapa during his New Year vacation.

• “I would be glad to see each of you there because there aren’t enough people, and the amount of toxic fuel oil rivals the sand on the beach. No one knows how long this will last, but vast areas are already contaminated with this poisonous muck.”

Valeria, a traveler from Krasnodar Krai, rescued birds at the Bugaz Spit.

• “I didn’t know where I was going; I just hitchhiked from Anapa with some guys who were heading out to save birds. I thought we were going to the volunteer hub in Vityazevo, but instead, we ended up at a newly established headquarters at the Bugaz Spit. At the Vetromania station, they quickly set up a volunteer base, providing food and protective gear for working safely with oil products. We put on our suits, masks, and gloves, climbed into a UAZ, and drove along the coast searching for birds. We stayed on the beach until sunset. We managed to catch five diving ducks, though it’s hard to say if that’s a lot or not. It was painful to leave, knowing there were still about ten other birds floating near the shore. But I understand that it will never feel like enough.”

Aleksandra Shochneva, a travel blogger and anchor from Izhevsk, was just a two-hour drive from the coast and decided to go.

• “Local residents and people from all over the country have come together, helping each other, the animals, and nature recover from the toxic oil spill. Yesterday, I felt such pride in our people!” Shochneva noted that they have to work under circling drones and frequently receive SMS alerts warning of missile or airstrike risks. “Still, once I joined the conveyor-belt-like work, met people from across the country, and fed and cared for dozens of poisoned grebes, my enthusiasm only grew. I’ll be helping every night while I’m here,” she promised.