![[object Object],[object Object]](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/tsza235h/production/893c64158c37fde91ddcce5dee64b95dde2e37c7-5464x2853.jpg?rect=196%2C0%2C5072%2C2853&w=3840&h=2160&fit=max&auto=format)
The “Green” Showcases of the Russian Arctic
Backed by federal officials, pseudo-environmentalists aid major corporations in plundering the Arctic.
The Arctida NGO and the Chronicles.Media expose the ways in which Russian authorities prop up their compliant doppelgangers while persecuting independent environmental activists.
Our article dives into so-called GONGOs—government-organized “non-governmental” organizations. These are formally independent groups, created or supported by the state, that mimic grassroots movements to hijack their agendas. “The most dangerous GONGOs grow at home, not abroad. They have become the tool of choice for undemocratic governments to manage their domestic politics while looking democratic,” noted Foreign Policy’s former editor-in-chief, Moisés Naím
The most dangerous GONGOs grow at home, not abroad. They have become the tool of choice for undemocratic governments to manage their domestic politics while looking democratic,” noted Foreign Policy’s former editor-in-chief, Moisés Naím
The authorities no longer bother hiding that, under the guise of supporting NGOs, they primarily fund organizations they’ve engineered themselves. For instance, in 2023, 90% of the Presidential Grants Foundation’s funding went to state-created nonprofits, as admitted by the foundation’s CEO, Ilya Chukalin.
“Environmental” GONGOs are active in the Russian Arctic. Key roles in the regional branches of these organizations are held by former officials from environmental agencies and advisors to state corporations. GONGO representatives sit on public councils, such as those under the Murmansk Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources or the environmental commission of Rosatom’s public council. They’re useful for staging a “consensus” at public hearings. These organizations do not engage in independent environmental oversight.
Environmentalists Hunt
Since Russia launched its war against Ukraine, 38 environmental organizations have been labeled “foreign agents.” Of these, 25 entities have been liquidated. This data comes from one of Russia’s oldest public organizations, the Russian Socio-Ecological Union (RSoES).
According to RSoES’s 2024 review, repressions have also targeted nature defenders in the Russian Arctic. For instance, eco-activist Alexey Semyonov from Komi republic was sentenced to 250 hours of community service for “publicly insulting a government official” during a rally for compliance with the federal law “On Production and Consumption Waste.”
In Krasnoyarsk Krai, eco-activist Evgenia Yelizaryeva was forcibly sent to a psychiatric facility for evaluation on similar charges. Nadezhda Inieva, a former member of the environmental initiative “42” in Arkhangelsk, was fined 10,000 rubles for failing to utilize the “foreign agent” label required by the Ministry of Justice. In Karelia, Arkhangelsk Region, and Yamal, activists have repeatedly been denied permits for public actions under various pretexts, such as ongoing repairs or the venue being booked for other events.
Repressions have also targeted international organizations. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was labeled a foreign agent, and later both WWF and Greenpeace were declared “undesirable organizations,” forcing environmentalists to curtail their longstanding activities in the country.
Public environmental oversight has also suffered, as Elena Esina, a member of the expert council under the parliamentary ecology committee, wrote in the government-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta. New legislative amendments have created a situation where the state itself approves the very experts tasked with ensuring the government complies with environmental laws.
As a result, instead of real environmental organizations, GONGOs have taken the lead. Below you will find an overview of GONGOs operating in the Russian Arctic.
Ostensibly “Ecological” Society
The creation of the Russian Ecological Society (RÉO) was proposed in 2017, which Vladimir Putin declared the Year of Ecology. The idea came from Rashid Ismailov (then the director of the nonprofit partnership “Center for Green Standards”), Denis Panshin, deputy chairman of the Russian Lawyers Association, and Ruslan Gubaidullin, executive director of the “Clean Country” association.
None of them has formal environmental education. Ismailov, a lawyer, worked in business and collaborated with the Ministry of Natural Resources through the Center for Green Standards. Gubaidullin specialized in partnerships with the waste disposal business. Rashid Ismailov became the head of RÉO.
As of today, Ismailov serves on the presidium of the Russian State Council’s “Ecological Well-Being” commission, the Council on Agro-Industrial Complex and Environmental Management under the Federation Council, and the expert council of the Federation Council’s Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management.
RÉO played a pivotal role in the 2022–2023 campaign against WWF and Greenpeace: Ismailov, on behalf of RÉO, repeatedly urged the Ministry of Justice to designate these organizations as foreign agents.
In 2006, Rashid Ismailov co-founded the autonomous non-profit organization “Environmental Innovative Projects” (EIP) and later became its president. In 2016, the Ministry of Justice successfully sought EIP’s liquidation through a court order due to years of failing to submit reports. However, the organization still exists.
In 2019, Ismailov worked at LLC “Gazenergoproekt Institute,” whose owner, Sergei Chernin, was later arrested for failing to fulfill a state contract to remediate “Dzerzhinskaya Black Hole,” Russia’s largest site of accumulated environmental damage.
Ismailov’s son, Marat, is affiliated with LLC “Horizon Media,” which publishes Mining Magazine covering events in the mining industry.
Among other RÉO leaders, many lack environmental backgrounds:
- Deputy Chairman Sergei Voropanov, the Moscow Region’s Energy Minister;
- Deputy Chairman Andrei Poroshin, an advisor to the Natural Resources Minister and a participant in the “Time of Heroes” program for Ukraine war veterans;
- Legal Department Director Viktor Pilnikov, an assistant to an unnamed State Duma deputy.
Upon its inception, RÉO immediately joined the “Ecology” national project. In 2024, this project was replaced by the “Ecological Well-Being” project, with Ismailov heading its public-expert council. Through Ismailov’s connections, RÉO gained access to significant resources allocated for the “environmental agenda.”
RÉO fosters partnerships with Yunarmiya and major businesses like Gazprom, Lukoil, Russian Railways, and AtomEnergoSbyt. Under the RÉO brand, media campaigns are funded by presidential grants or contributions from large corporations such as Severstal, PhosAgro, and Segezha Group.
The Russian Ecological Society (RÉO) is linked to the Public Company Russian Environmental Operator (PPC RÉO), which profits from Russia’s waste management reform. PPC RÉO’s former head, Ilya Gudkov, previously advised Dmitry Kobylkin, then Minister of Natural Resources and now chair of the parliamentary ecology committee. Gudkov is also connected to Yuri Kovalchuk, described by the U.S. as Putin’s personal banker.
After PPC RÉO, Gudkov held senior roles at JSC Nevsky Environmental Operator, a regional waste operator in St. Petersburg, a joint project of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region governments and the state energy company Inter RAO, then led by Yuri Kovalchuk’s son, Boris.
Since 2023, Gudkov has been in pretrial detention on charges related to his role as general director of FSUE Rostrazmodernizatsiya. In 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev stated that nearly 40 billion rubles had been allocated to PPC RÉO-related projects over three years. Notably, PPC RÉO’s current (as of 2025) director, Irina Tarasova, previously worked at the Ministry of Agriculture under Patrushev’s leadership.
The Oil and Gas Industry Compass
The Compass Foundation, established in summer 2022, was initiated with the involvement of Dmitry Kobylkin, a familiar figure who served as governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YANAO) from 2010 to 2018 and later as Minister of Natural Resources. The foundation’s supervisory board includes Svetlana Radionova, head of Rosprirodnadzor, and is led by Tatiana Kovaleva, who used to be Kobylkin’s press secretary during his ministerial tenure.
Among the foundation’s partners is NaftaGaz, a major oilfield services company operating in YANAO and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (KhMAO). From 2010 to 2018, it was the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug that was led by Dmitry Kobylkin, one of the members of the foundation's board of trustees.
According to the Unified Register of Inspections, since 2019—after Kobylkin became Minister of Natural Resources in 2018—the number of environmental inspections of NaftaGaz-affiliated companies significantly decreased (or information about them ceased to be published), suggesting possible informal protection.
Dmitry Kobylkin began his political career as deputy head of a Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YANAO) district under Anatoly Ostryagin. Prior to that, he worked under Ostryagin at Purneftegazgeologiya, which later became part of Novatek. Ostryagin, a co-founder of Novatek, was described by Kobylkin as his mentor. Novatek’s owners include Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of Putin, linking the Compass Foundation to this major extractive company through Kobylkin.
The Compass Foundation’s expert council includes State Duma deputy Evgeny Markov. In 2023, Markov and Kobylkin co-authored a bill amending the Forest Code to allow forest clearing for exploratory work. Markov openly stated that the bill was developed with entrepreneurs and that the industry had awaited this change for over a decade.
Greenwashing in the Arctic
“Green Arctic” is a bold name. The Arctic is white. It’ll only turn green if it melts, and that would be a disaster. Be that as it may, the organization works closely with the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YANAO) government. According to Kontur.Focus, it was initially founded with the involvement of the Yamal branch of the Russian Geographical Society, the Ural State Forestry University, and the state fund “Yamal Cooperation.” Among Green Arctic’s partners are major corporations like Gazprom, Lukoil, Transneft, Gazprom-affiliated Achimgaz, and Novatek’s projects, Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2.
Green Arctic also partners with the “Putin’s Pioneers” of the Movement of the First, and the state-run Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Youth Center signed a state contract with Green Arctic: for 150,000 rubles, the organization set up some vague “thematic platforms.”
Another partner is the autonomous non-profit “Clean Arctic,” chaired by Ruslan Gubaidullin, co-founder of the Russian Environmental Operator (REO). Clean Arctic’s general partners include Norilsk Nickel and Rosatom, with media partners like Gazprom Media, RIA Novosti, RT, TASS, and others.
“Green Arctic” Leadership and Greenwashing
The leadership of Green Arctic is also tied to state structures. Its former director, Alexey Rudkovsky, according to EGRUL records, used to serve as chairman of the YANAO branch of the Rodina party and worked at the YANAO Center for External Relations Development. He also headed the regional state institution “Youth Employment Technologies Center.” As an individual entrepreneur and through one of his legal entities, Rudkovsky secured state tenders worth a total of 8.2 million rubles, signing contracts with regional state institutions.
The current “Green Arctic” director, Evgeny Rozhkovsky, also had a background in government before moving into business. His company, Innovative Solutions, secured 28 state contracts between 2011 and 2013, totaling around 20 million rubles, primarily from the YANAO Department of Youth Policy. For this money, Rozhkovsky’s company organized various events in YANAO, including “patriotic” ones and seminars on “pre-conscription training.”
Beyond this, Green Arctic sends volunteer expeditions to the Arctic to collect scrap metal and trash, with volunteers undergoing strict selection. Thus, “Green Arctic” both “helps nature” and polishes the reputation of major extractive companies—a textbook case of greenwashing. While volunteers sift through Arctic waste, systemic issues like transitioning to sustainable energy or repairing and replacing outdated oil pipelines go unaddressed. Meanwhile, corporate PR departments churn out glossy reports about their “environmental care.”
“Green Arctic” and Persecution of Activists
Authorities in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YANAO) target environmental activists and independent ecologists who criticize major oil and gas companies, while Green Arctic collaborates closely with those same corporations. For instance, in the Komi Republic in 2022, police investigated eco-activists for inspecting oil spill sites that a Transneft subsidiary—Green Arctic’s partner—tried to conceal.
“Green Arctic” also partners Lukoil whose oil spills in Komi and Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) in 2020 and 202 caused significant damage. The Russian Environmental Operator (REO) and Rashid Ismailov claimed the spills were being systematically cleaned up, downplaying the real impact as reported by locals. Lukoil was later fined over 400 million rubles for the spills' consequences. This highlights Green Arctic's role in whitewashing corporate environmental harm while activists face suppression
Even if GONGO projects bring occasional benefits, they are largely “Potemkin villages” on a broader scale. Endless forums, conferences, media campaigns, and trash cleanups are presented as comprehensive environmental protection measures. Yet, they sidestep fundamental issues: severe infrastructure degradation leading to disasters and accidents that worsen the climate crisis—melting ice, rising temperatures, burning forests, and shrinking permafrost zones.
For instance, Russia’s Energy Strategy up to 2050 plans continued oil, gas, and coal extraction, while the world shifts to renewables. No photo reports from eco-cleanups will alter the Kremlin’s course, unlike independent environmental oversight, which challenges corporations and authorities.
Russia’s Arctic “green” agenda relies on a tightly knit network of quasi-civil organizations, state structures, and major corporations. Overlapping interests, connections, and financial flows form a closed loop, a unified web enveloping the Arctic. Amid pressure on independent ecologists and the expulsion of international funds, GONGOs shape the public face of Russia’s environmental sector, replacing substantive oversight with image-driven campaigns and reports, while strategic issues like infrastructure modernization and energy transition remain ignored.
According to the 2024 Environmental Performance Index by Yale, Columbia, and the World Economic Forum, Russia ranks 83rd out of 180 countries. Meanwhile, other Arctic states are in the top 50, with Finland, Sweden, and Norway in the top ten.
