Yevgeniya Sergeyevna Chirikova ( rus, Евге́ния Серге́евна Чи́рикова: born 12 November 1976 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) is a Russian environmental activist, primarily known for opposing the building of a motorway through

Khimki Forest Khimki Forest is a forest near the Russian city of Moscow covering about 1000 hectares. It is part of the so-called "Green Belt" around Moscow. An $8 billion high speed road, the Moscow–Saint Petersburg motorway (M11), has been proposed to go thr ...

near Moscow. She has also played a prominent role in the 2011–2013 Russian protests following disputed parliamentary elections in Russia. Chirikova has also been credited with "stimulating nationwide interest in political reform". She is currently based in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Campaigning

Evgenia Chirikova at the entrance to the FSB (2)

Chirikova has campaigned against the building of a road through Khimki Forest. She also helped convince the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

and the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

to "shun the project". Chirikova has been the subject of intimidation because of her campaigning. In 2011 government officials visited her, saying they had been instructed to take away her children because she was abusing them. According to Chirikova, "My reaction was completely unmitigated rage. I recorded myself describing what had happened and posted the video on the web. There were so many calls to the department that they withdrew."

Awards

In March 2011, she received the

Woman of Courage Award Since 1994, the National Organization for Women (NOW) has presented the Woman of Courage Award annually (in most years) at the National NOW Conference, and periodically at issue-based summits organized by NOW and/or the NOW Foundation. Honorees are ...

handed over by then-US Vice President Joe Biden. On this occasion, she proposed imposing sanctions on Russian politicians including Minister of Transport

Igor Levitin Igor Yevgenyevich Levitin (russian: Игорь Евгеньевич Левитин) (born 21 February 1952) is a Russian political figure, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation since September 2013, and Class 1 Active State Advisor of th ...

. In 2012, she was a winner of the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

, receiving a USD$150,000 prize. She has said that she will spend the money setting up a campaign group called ''Our Land'' (Russian: наша земля - ''Nasha Zemlya'') to fight similar environmental campaigns to Khimki. In November 2012, ''

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'' named Yevgeniya Chirikova one of its 2012 Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Family

Yevgeniya Chirikova is married to businessman Mikhail Matveyev. The couple has two children."Чирикова, Евгения"
lenta.ru

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chirikova, Yevgeniya 1976 births Living people Politicians from Moscow Russian political activists Russian women activists 2011–2013 Russian protests Russian environmentalists Russian women environmentalists LGBT rights activists from Russia Russian expatriates in Estonia Moscow Aviation Institute alumni Russian dissidents Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Campaigning

Awards

Family

See also

References

External links