On Sunday, May 27, the Uryupinsk (Volgogradskaya obl.) Held a regular meeting devoted to «problem patient» of the region — the development of nickel deposits in Elkinskom and Elan mines. Apparently, the statement of the authorities that the holder of the mining of nickel (they recently became the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company) has taken into account in mine development project environmental issues, confidence in the defenders of nature does not instilled: the protests have gathered thousands of disgruntled citizens.

The participants believe that the development of Elkinskogo Elan and nickel deposits can cause irreparable damage to the nature of the region. First of all we are talking about changing the natural hydrologic regime of the region and air pollution, which may suffer from not only the Voronezh and Volgograd regions: the threat is real and to Saratov, Rostov, Tambov and Lipetsk regions. The «minimum» of protesters — an independent environmental review to determine the safety level of development of nickel deposits. The «maximum» — a moratorium on any work in a conservation area. In support of their claims conservationists have collected several thousand signatures.

«Anti — Nickel» rally held over the weekend in Uryupinsk, aroused the interest of journalists and attracted the attention of local officials. However, the protesters were not limited to «local» resonance. At the conclusion of the event they made a letter to the President of Russia, in which they expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the authorities of indifference to the interests of citizens in environmental issues.