Bellona – St. Petersburg

Bellona – St. Petersburg is a branch of the environmental rights organization the Bellona Foundation, headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Founded in 1986, the Bellona Foundation primarily functions as a nuclear watchdog and focuses on developments in Russia.

Bellona Foundation
TypeNGO
IndustryEnvironmentalism and environmental rights
FoundedApril 1998
HeadquartersSaint Petersburg, Russia
Area served
Russia
Key people
Alexander Nikitin
Number of employees
17
Websitewww.bellona.ru

The St. Petersburg office of Environmental Rights Center Bellona (ERC Bellona) was founded in April 1998 following the trials of such activists as Fedorov – Mirzoyanov, Nikolai Shchur, and Alexander Nikitin, who had begun to distribute information about environmental threats and were being persecuted by the very agencies responsible for causing these threats. These cases highlighted the need to provide legal support for an organization to defend the rights of all Russians to unspoiled natural resources and reliable information about their condition.

Goals of the organization

ERC Bellona's aims are centered around the belief that the rights to unspoiled natural resources and reliable environmental information are fundamental, and its mission is to protect these rights.[1]

Projects

ERC Bellona's activities take three main directions: a legal, informational, and expert assessment. The Legal direction is concerned with extending legal help to Russian citizens. The Informational direction is intended to increase awareness through its website and quarterly magazine, Ecology and Law. The Expert Assessment direction is geared towards generating independent presentations, expert opinions, and various other informational materials on topics such as:

  • Atomic energy safety.
  • Methods for dealing with nuclear waste.
  • The development of environmentally sound, renewable energy.
  • Issues concerning the transport of oil and gas.[1]

Each year, ERC Bellona carries out more than five different projects, the results of which are published on its website in the form of annual reports. ERC Bellona has informational, legal and expert resources that allow it to be a crucial partner for NGOs, civil activists, and ordinary citizens whose rights are violated by the government and members of the business community.[1]

Staff and location

The staff of ERC Bellona consists of permanent employees, part-time personnel and volunteers. Staff members are:

  • Alexander Nikitin, Council Chairman of ERC Bellona's Director's Board
  • Yuri Bdovin, Council Vice-chairman of ERC Bellona's Directors Board
  • Yuri Schmidt, attorney, council member of ERC Bellona's Directors Board, president of Lawyers for Human Rights
  • Nikolay Rybakov, executive director of ERC Bellona
  • Lyubov Ermakova, Director of Financial Administration
  • Natalya Shibko, Bookkeeper
  • Elena Kobets, Director of Development
  • Aleksei Nasonov, Fundraising Specialist
  • Natalya Yevdokimova, Head of the Legal Division
  • Nina Popravko, attorney
  • Nadezhda Mukhina, attorney
  • Anastassia Timoshenko, public relations
  • Vladimir F. Levchenko, Moderator of the international environmental network ENWL
  • Yuri Chernogorov, nuclear projects expert
  • Michael Amosov, expert
  • Lina Zernova, Editor of the journal Environment and Rights
  • Alexander Gorbanovsky, Managing Editor of the journal Environment and Rights
  • Alexandra Solokhina, layout for the journal Environment and Rights

ERC Bellona is located in the center of St. Petersburg, on Suvorovsky Prospect.

References
  1. "Bellona – St. Petersburg - Bellona". Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
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