But a deeper look into Russia’s role reveals a whole ecosystem of disinformation and denialism. This toxic environment has been created by lobbyists, corporations and politicians, who refuse to entertain the possibility that the dumping of vast amounts of untreated animal waste on Russian soil could possibly lead to pollution and ecological disruption elsewhere. Far from working to address the issue, they have instead dismissed and attempted to discredit the work of independent researchers whose findings run contrary to their own interests.
For years, Udarnik has denied violating environmental laws relating to the dumping of manure to local media, prosecutors and activists. The company also declined to answer questions for this article.
Udarnik is only part of the problem. The area around Saint Petersburg is home to at least 145 large-scale cattle, pig and poultry farms, each with about 172,000 animals. There are more than 10 active poultry farms left in the region. According to researchers, every year a single poultry farm can deposit around 10 tons of phosphorus into the Baltic sea.
Denying the facts
Seppo Knuuttila, a leading researcher from the Finnish Environment Institute, has witnessed the conditions in Pobeda first-hand. He describes them as the worst he has ever seen.
“Manure lay spread in the countryside, not in such a way that it served as fertilizer. Huge quantities completely covered the ground,” he said.
Knuuttila has been monitoring pollution in the Baltic since the 1980s and first began surveying possible sources in the area surrounding Saint Petersburg in 2008. “It was pioneering work in Russia, because no one had information on emissions from large animal production plants,” he said.
When he first identified several large polluters, the Russian reaction was openly hostile. Knuuttila found himself attacked in the Russian media and referred to as a “hooligan and a provocateur” by the state-run news agency Ria Novosti.
“There was an urgent need for preventative measures, but our results were not received enthusiastically,” he said.
In the spring of 2011, as Knuuttila was working on a project to document emissions in the area, his research revealed a massive spillage of manure into the Ladoga River after a dam broke at the Nevskaya poultry farm in Leningrad Oblast.
The Nevskaya spill first made the news in Finland, but it also received coverage in Russia. “Once it became known to the Russian media, the authorities could no longer hide the company’s problems. This may explain the irritation towards me,” said Knuuttila.
Knuuttila said the local environmental chief of Leningrad Oblast accused him of “lying and slandering Russia,” after he had revealed the details of the accident. The official told Knuuttila that she had been in contact with the management of the poultry farm and had been assured that nothing had happened.
After the incident, Knuuttila analyzed water samples and monitored satellite images of the site. He estimated that between 40 and 50 tons of phosphorus had been released, much of it into nearby waters.
Neither representatives from Nevskaya nor local government officials replied to interview requests for this article.
Despite the negative attention, Knuuttila continued his research investigating the source of the pollution from Russia. The worst was yet to come. At the start of 2012, Knuuttila discovered what would later be known as the biggest ever phosphorus leak into the Baltic Sea – a massive 1,000 tons a year, according to his calculations. It emanated from the Russian fertilizer company Eurochem’s Fosforit plant, along the River Luga in Kingisepp, an ancient town located 85 miles southwest of St. Petersburg.
Knuuttila’s efforts to trace the leak back to the source and investigate it led to his arrest by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in April 2012. Knuuttila says he was on an official data-collection trip, taking samples from the river. Eurochem, however, said he had trespassed on factory owned land.
While detained, Knuuttila was interrogated by the police. Upon his release the following morning, his computer was confiscated by the FSB.
His arrest escalated into a confrontation between the Finnish and Russian officials. In a sharply worded statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s press officer Aleksandr Lukashevich described Knuuttila’s actions as “unacceptable” and called upon Finland to explain his activities.
Now, fearing arrest, Knuuttila says he can no longer work in Russia. This has effectively ended his research in the region – at great potential cost to the environment of Leningrad Oblast and the Baltic Sea.
“Something nasty can happen to me in Russia,” he said. “My work was not completed, even though the results achieved were very significant. If I’d try to take samples or to approach a pollution source, I would almost certainly be re-arrested.”
Denials and fines
Farms such as Udarnik have been dumping manure on the land of Leningrad Oblast since the Soviet era, causing environmental devastation there and in the Baltic sea. It appears to be more convenient and cost effective for them to continue to do so, facing only occasional fines from the local environmental authorities, than to invest in expensive new waste treatment technology.
“There are no systems for managing the manure. While local supervising authorities impose fines and penalties, they turn a blind eye to the ecological problems, which get worse year after year, worsen year after year,” said Gribalev.
In 2010, Udarnik formally changed its management and its new owners expressed their wishes to do things differently. The company made some promising moves to address the pollution. In 2013, it joined forces with the Finnish environmental organization the John Nurminen Foundation, which focuses on protecting the Baltic Sea, to investigate options for minimizing the risk of runoff from the manure lagoons to the environment.
A joint Finnish-Swedish project was launched to install a large filter system with the ability to rinse the manure and reduce the phosphorus leaking into the Gulf of Finland.
But, according to Marjukka Porvari from the foundation, Udarnik could not afford to fully implement the system. “We had a project ongoing up until June 2017, but manure has been leaking for over 40 years, and it has gotten worse since we were there,” she said.
