The small village of Listvyanka, located on the coast of Lake Baikal, has become the center of attention of the Russian media. This started after Baikal was sold to the Chinese. Many newspapers claim that Chinese investors are going to buy the land and make the area a province of China.
Land lease
It is known that back in 2015, one of the Chinese companies located in the city of Zhejiang entered into an agreement regarding the lease of Baikal lands. The agreement envisaged the sale of land for 49 years in advance, with an area of 115,000 hectares, which the Chinese plan to use for their own purposes - for growing rice and other agricultural products.
According to one of the project managers of the Chinese side, all details about the benefits for all partners will be decided after the technical side of the issue is established. However, after the first investment of about 28,000,000 US dollars, intensive deforestation began. All wood was imported in full to China, and deforestation work continues to this day.
In addition, Chinese investors demanded that Putin provide contractual cooperation with a Russian oil company that produces oil in Siberia. After which, Kremlin leaders approved the right to use Siberian lands for the study of fossil resources. And according to local media, the Chinese are buying up territories for future development and are doing this for several decades in advance.
Water rental
The main task of the Chinese Baikal project is the installation of a water pipeline on the lake, through Mongolian lands, and then through the Gobi Desert. The final destination is the capital of Gansu province - the Chinese suburb of Lanzhou. This project was included as the main point of the 2015 agreement.
The project was developed by Chinese specialists from the Lanzhou District Planning Institute. From a theoretical point of view, this development is quite realistic and no difficulties should arise.
For China, this is a very important project that will help solve the shortage problem. fresh water in the country. The Chinese intend to use about seven percent of water resources, which is an unacceptable figure given that China accounts for 20% of the world's population.
Beijing investors plan to take leadership positions in market relations involving the sale of drinking water transported from Lake Baikal. In future prospects, they are going to pump out about 2,000,000 tons of water per year. And the trademark “Well of the Earth” has already been patented in many European countries in two languages.
Putin expects to receive a good percentage from the sale of water, claiming that the funds received will be used to restore and develop the infrastructure of the Siberian regions. However, the fact that the Chinese are deliberately buying up land in Siberia suggests the opposite.
Results
Many Russians and residents of Baikal settlements express their dissatisfaction that the lands of Siberia were sold to China. Some are confident that they were given away without thinking, and argue that the Chinese deliberately and openly want to buy up Russian lands, which were once supposedly the territory of the great Chinese dynasty.
According to many journalists from the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, in addition to water and forests, the PRC plans to invest in the following activities:
- processing industry;
- oil production;
- international tourism.
From an environmental point of view, enormous damage could be caused to the forests and coast of Lake Baikal. This is facilitated by the constant destruction of forests, the laying of pipelines and other communications. These places are the habitat of many rare animals and birds, which may disappear during the process of construction and progress. However, neither the Kremlin nor the Chinese government cares about this. If Chinese investors buy most lands, it will be almost impossible to control the situation.
Local authorities convince residents that the resources consumed by Chinese Baikal will not cause significant damage, since the rates of deforestation and fresh water transportation do not exceed environmental standards. And a share of the profit will pay for the damage and part of the funds will be invested in restoring the living resources of Siberia, especially the taiga. Moreover, the authorities no longer plan to sell their territories and are doing everything possible to preserve the environment.
According to Nikita Isaev, the party leader, “ New Russia“, Russian politicians reasonably assess the situation on Lake Baikal and will not allow an environmental crisis. Moreover, the Chinese promised not to compensate for the damage caused, but also to contribute to other Siberian projects that are very beneficial for Russia.
The illegal construction of a hotel in a water protection zone did not in any way affect the overall problem of this once strong industrial settlement. This conclusion can be made by reading the Christmas photo report from the tourist “Mecca” of Irkutsk, prepared by the editors of the site babr24.com .
“The word “Mecca” is deliberately placed in quotation marks. Dirt, snow-covered sidewalks, illegal trade in omul that is prohibited from catching and selling, drunks Chinese tourists, the complete lack of parking and normal roads - this is the portrait of modern Listvyanka. You can only “relax” here if you are very drunk. What do so-called tourists do? There are no police, no authorities - complete freedom." ,” explain Irkutsk colleagues.
Svetlana Shapovalova © IA REGNUM
Let us remember that until the beginning of the 20th century the village was called Listvennichnoe. It got its name from the larches growing on the nearby Larch Cape(it is also being actively mastered now), but simplified slang has done its job. Under his influence official name was replaced by Listvyanka. It is located on the right side of the source of the Angara River and extends to the northwest along Lake Baikal (Listvennichny Bay) for 5 km.
The year the settlement was founded is not known for certain. In local history literature there is a version that the first Russian hut of an industrialist Roman Kislitsyna was built there in 1725. Almost 300 years ago, the main occupations of the residents of Listvennichny were hunting and fishing. From there they went on scientific expeditions Benedict Dybowski And Bernhard Petri, Many outstanding researchers of Lake Baikal lived and worked here. And the most important enterprise of Listvyanka was the shipyard (former ship repair shops of the Baikal ferry crossing). Many ships of the Baikal Fleet were built on it, as well as the famous ones built in England. icebreaker ferry "Baikal" And icebreaker "Angara". All these objects are now abandoned, but hotel of the former mayor of Listvyanka Tatyana Kazakova, in 2008, convicted of a number of serious economic crimes, is still the most prominent target.
“They say that according to the project it was supposed to be three-story. At the owner's command, the hotel was built on without changing the foundation design. It’s also not entirely clear where the sewage from this hotel flows.” ,” informs babr24.com.
However, over ten years there have been many more such objects. Even the head of the administration of Listvyanka doesn’t know how much exactly. Alexander Shamsudinov.
“We have nothing to do with the sale of private lands and cannot influence the owners. I know that on paper these are residential buildings, but in fact they are commercial properties that are not officially registered anywhere. And all because in Russia citizens of other states have the legal right to buy land (except for farmland).”
According to a local activist Yulia Ivanets, active buying began two or three years ago:
“I noticed the Chinese pillars. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Chinese, and I didn’t understand what the inscriptions were about. And when they began to transfer them, people were horrified. Guides also tell tourists that Baikal is the northern sea of the Chinese, on which their tribes used to live, and the territory temporarily belongs to Russia. Secondly, the Chinese are confident that by the end of 2020, the purchase of land on Lake Baikal will gain even greater momentum, since there is Federal Law 473 “On Territories of Rapid Socio-Economic Development of Russia (TOR).”
It’s not just social activists who are very concerned about this situation. Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the inter-factional working group "Baikal" Sergey Ten reported that in 2018 the Chinese predict an increase in the number of their tourists to the Irkutsk region to a million people per year. The very fact of buying land on Lake Baikal by Chinese entrepreneurs in an interview irk.ru he called it “blatant” and noted that the State Duma had begun to discuss how to improve legislation for Chinese and Russian entrepreneurs.
Svetlana Shapovalova © IA REGNUM
« Let's put it this way, that is, using the example of Listvyanka alone. Today no one will answer the question of how many Chinese hotels operate on the territory of Listvyanka, but only three of them operate legally. (...) At the same time, the number of plots sold to Chinese citizens, which are actually located on the shore of Lake Baikal in Listvyanka, is about 37, I think, or 40» , said Sergei Ten.
But Irkutsk correspondents who recently visited Listvyanka testify:« Listvyanka has hundreds of hotels. Mostly illegal." " Chinese are everywhere. There are thousands of them. Thank you for not millions».
Mountains of omul were found in retail outlets. The caviar of this prohibited fish is also available for free sale. This means that the omul was caught during the spawning period.
“The Chinese politician traveled to Siberia. They ask him about his impressions.
Irkutsk - beautiful city. Krasnoyarsk is a beautiful city. And we’ll leave Omsk to you.”
Once upon a time they laughed at this joke, but now they almost cry. Residents of the tourist village of Listvyanka on the shores of Lake Baikal wrote a petition to Vladimir Putin asking for protection from Chinese expansion. It’s as if businessmen from the Middle Kingdom have already bought a tenth of the local land and are building it up with hotels. The entire village is plastered with advertisements with hieroglyphs, and guides tell tourists that Baikal is the northern sea of the Chinese, where their tribes used to live, and simply temporarily belongs to Russia. KP correspondents understood the situation.
“Baikal belonged to the Celestial Empire 200 years ago”
“Two Chinese hang a banner on the fence without hesitation,” writes Evgeniy Kravkl, director of the art song theater on Baikal, on his social media page. - A year ago, this scene began the struggle of local residents against the future Chinese enclave on our land. The ad contains a so-called QUAR code. Chinese tourists point their smartphone at it and receive a complete database of plots that can be bought on Lake Baikal. We didn’t immediately realize what was happening...”
Listvyanka resident Evgeniy Kravkl: “Omul fishing has been banned and locals can only sell their lands”
And it's true. Already at the entrance to the tourist village next to the cemetery you can see the walls of what is probably a future Chinese hotel. A dozen foreign workers are trying to grow a reinforced concrete monster.
What will happen here? - we are trying to establish international friendship with one of the builders, but he is hiding in the corridors in English.
We drive further and after ten meters we see a huge banner in Russian and Chinese “For sale land plot" Immediately another sign invites you to a Chinese restaurant, from which a crowd of tourists emerges with ice cream in their hands - almost like native Siberians!
Isn't it too cold for you to eat ice cream? - we ask and hear a roaring laugh in response.
This is what I suggested to them,” admits the Chinese guide, who has been working in our area for three years now. - They came from the south of China - from Guangzhou. In winter, tourists are mainly from there, and in summer - from Hong Kong. My fellow countrymen miss the snow and ice. There is no ice in Listvyanka yet, so I thought that I could compensate for this with ice cream.
Do you like the living conditions?
You can live! Of course, it’s worse than what we have in China, but better than it was here before.
While we were talking, a tourist bus drove by. There was no doubt - it was carrying passengers from Asia. We say goodbye to some guests from the Middle Kingdom and set off in pursuit of others. Surprisingly, the bus parked next to... a Russian hotel. And who then stays in Chinese ones?
Where are the guests from? - we ask the guide.
From the province of Wenzhou,” he tries to explain himself in broken Russian. - Do you know? South of China.
Chinese man in Listvyanka: “All our people know their history... about Baikal”
Who came? Businessmen?
Yes, businessmen, pensioners, students. They will rest here for a week and look at the snow.
What do you tell them about Baikal?
That it belonged to China 200 years ago. But they already know our history.
They buy land for houses and build hotels
Both in Russian hotels and in Chinese - the living conditions and prices are the same. We were convinced of this when we crossed the threshold of the Asian hotel. Although how can you say Asian: the name is Russian, the building is built of wood in the best Russian traditions, and the cuisine is European. Only the interior gives away the Chinese owner: paintings with landscapes of the Middle Kingdom, hieroglyphs at the reception.
Doctor from Ust-Ilimsk Denis Matveev: “Let the Chinese build hotels, but ours will work in them”
I’m happy with my vacation, the conditions are comfortable, I’ve been coming here for several years now. Maybe the Chinese are an eyesore for the local population, but they don’t bother me,” Denis Matveev, a guest and general practitioner from Ust-Ilimsk, surprised us.
“Called” is not the right word. In Listvyanka there is only talk about the invasion of foreigners. We went to the local museum, and there three employees, like conspirators, were discussing an accident caused by a Chinese man.
Do you remember the accident on Ostrovskaya? He rushes along in a truck, sees no one. He crashed and said that it was not his fault. But the police arrived and decided that he was guilty.
Well, he didn’t deliberately crush people.
Still arrogant Chinese. Don’t you know how they block the street with their suitcases and don’t react when you honk at them...
Were there any clashes? - we intervene in the dispute and say that we are from the newspaper.
Mathematics teacher from Listvyanka Lidiya Korovyakova: “Every second resident has cancer”
“Not yet,” answered math teacher from the local school Lidia Korovyakova and explained the situation in the village. - The main problem is this: the Chinese are buying land for individual housing construction (individual development), and building hotels. At the same time, they dig up the entire earth and open up the mountains. But under no circumstances should you do this! Radon radiation comes from under the rock layers and that is why every second resident here suffers from cancer. I’ve lived here for 20 years and haven’t plucked a single twig from the forest. But for foreign businessmen, the main thing is money. And it doesn’t matter how they are earned. Again, there is no central sewerage system in the village, and the hotel is located 15 meters from the shore. And where will all the waste go? To Baikal!
The answer to how much land was purchased this year was given to us by the administration. It turned out that local authorities have nothing to do with the sale, since they have no free space in their property.
We have nothing to do with the sale of private lands and cannot influence the owners, assures the head of the Listvyanka administration, Alexander Shamsudinov. - I know that on paper these are residential buildings, but in fact they are commercial properties that are not officially registered anywhere. And all because in Russia citizens of other states have the legal right to buy land (except for farmland). During this year, Chinese citizens purchased 27 plots in Listvyanka. However, we do not intend to turn a blind eye to this, and have sent out an appeal to various structures. Our main goal is to bring Listvyanka's business into compliance with the law.
P. S. The day after our trip to Listvyanka, the director of the Art Song Theater on Lake Baikal, Evgeniy Kravklyu, published a new post about the fight against illegal construction by Chinese businessmen: “Two hours ago, a detachment in uniform and with machine guns arrived at the illegal construction site. Looks like riot police or FSB. The arrival was sudden. I am pleasantly surprised by the determination of the security forces. According to eyewitnesses, attempts to resist by Chinese workers were abruptly suppressed. After some time, a team of electricians arrived here. Obviously, to disconnect the construction site from the network.”
In the Olkhon district, local residents continue to discuss the emergency that happened in late July 2017. At the same time, regional authorities, through law enforcement agencies, are taking all measures to ensure that information does not spread.
Let us remind you that on July 29, the third ferry to Olkhon “Semyon Batagaev” was out of order. The breakdown occurred at the height of the tourist season, as a result of which the queue on the island instantly grew to 700-800 cars.
Considering that the Dorozhnik ferry transports only local residents and Shuttle Buses, only the Olkhon Gate ferry remains for tourists. Tourists, stuck in line for several days, in the heat and without any service, naturally became nervous and tried by any means necessary to get on the ferry.
Antonina Sizikova, the daughter of the captain of the Olkhon Gate ferry, helped the sailors arrange their cars on the ferry. According to the rules of ferry transportation, cars are arranged first, and only then passengers on foot are allowed on board. These are obvious safety requirements.
However, the moment the cars began to load onto the ferry, a huge crowd of Chinese tourists, arriving on several buses, literally began to storm the ferry.
Let us remind you that Chinese hotels located on Olkhon, back in 2016, created a fairly convenient way to transport tourists from the Middle Kingdom. Large buses bring them to the mainland part of the crossing, tourists cross the strait on their own, and on Olkhon they are met by minibuses belonging to hotels. As a result, Chinese tourists practically do not linger at the crossing, since there are no restrictions on the number of foot passengers on the ferry.
The crowd of Chinese who poured onto the ferry actually blocked the passage of cars. Antonina Sizikova ordered not to let the Chinese in until all the cars were loaded. In response, one of the Chinese began to beat her with a stick, after which the rest of the Chinese began to beat her with their fists.
The ferry captain came down to help the girl Sergey Sizikov. However, the Chinese beat him too.
The beating of the girl took place in front of a police patrol ensuring security on ferry crossing. Subsequently, when asked why they did not intervene in the fight, the police calmly replied that their task was to ensure order on the shore, and not on the ferry.
Immediately after the incident, Sergei Sizikov was fired without explanation. He worked on the ferry for 38 years, from the very first ferry designed for two cars, and is considered one of the most experienced captains on Lake Baikal.
All attempts by the Sizikov family to file a complaint with the police are blocked by the authorities. The family is also being intimidated by Chinese hotel owners who do not want publicity. The situation is completely incomprehensible, as are the actions of Chinese tourists on Lake Baikal in general.
The fact is that the Irkutsk region does not receive a penny from the influx of tourists to Olkhon. The hotels are owned by Chinese citizens and are designed like garden houses. Tourists pay for transportation, service and accommodation directly to the card of the hotel owner, thus the entire flow of money bypasses the Russian budget. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists feel like masters on Olkhon and regularly get into fights with local residents. By the way, the hotel charges about five million rubles from one group of Chinese. Not a penny is paid in taxes.
The situation is aggravated many times over by the fact that there is only one (!) local police officer on Olkhon. To an island with an area of 730 square kilometers, with a population of about two thousand people and hundreds of thousands of tourists a year.
In the Olkhon district, local residents continue to discuss the emergency that happened in late July 2017. At the same time, regional authorities, through law enforcement agencies, are taking all measures to ensure that information does not spread.
Let us remind you that on July 29, the third ferry to Olkhon, Semyon Batagaev, was out of order. The breakdown occurred at the height of the tourist season, as a result of which the queue on the island instantly grew to 700-800 cars.
Considering that the Dorozhnik ferry transports only local residents and regular buses, only the Olkhon Gate ferry remains for tourists. Tourists, stuck in line for several days, in the heat and without any service, naturally became nervous and tried by any means necessary to get on the ferry.
Antonina Sizikova, the daughter of the captain of the Olkhon Gate ferry, helped the sailors arrange their cars on the ferry. According to the rules of ferry transportation, cars are arranged first, and only then passengers on foot are allowed on board. These are obvious safety requirements.
However, the moment the cars began to load onto the ferry, a huge crowd of Chinese tourists, arriving on several buses, literally began to storm the ferry.
Let us remind you that Chinese hotels located on Olkhon, back in 2016, created a fairly convenient way to transport tourists from the Middle Kingdom. Large buses bring them to the mainland part of the crossing, tourists cross the strait on their own, and on Olkhon they are met by minibuses belonging to hotels. As a result, Chinese tourists practically do not linger at the crossing, since there are no restrictions on the number of foot passengers on the ferry.
The crowd of Chinese who poured onto the ferry actually blocked the passage of cars. Antonina Sizikova ordered not to let the Chinese in until all the cars were loaded. In response, one of the Chinese began to beat her with a stick, after which the rest of the Chinese began to beat her with their fists.
The ferry captain, Sergei Sizikov, came down to help the girl. However, the Chinese beat him too.
The girl was beaten in front of a police patrol ensuring security at the ferry crossing. Subsequently, when asked why they did not intervene in the fight, the police calmly replied that their task was to ensure order on the shore, and not on the ferry.
Immediately after the incident, Sergei Sizikov was fired without explanation. He worked on the ferry for 38 years, from the very first ferry designed for two cars, and is considered one of the most experienced captains on Lake Baikal.
All attempts by the Sizikov family to file a complaint with the police are blocked by the authorities. The family is also being intimidated by Chinese hotel owners who do not want publicity. The situation is completely incomprehensible, as are the actions of Chinese tourists on Lake Baikal in general.
The fact is that the Irkutsk region does not receive a penny from the influx of tourists to Olkhon. The hotels are owned by Chinese citizens and are designed like garden houses. Tourists pay for transportation, service and accommodation directly to the card of the hotel owner, thus the entire flow of money bypasses the Russian budget. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists feel like masters of Olkhon and regularly get into fights with local residents. By the way, the hotel charges about five million rubles from one group of Chinese. Not a penny is paid in taxes.
The situation is aggravated many times over by the fact that there is only one (!) local police officer on Olkhon. The island has an area of 730 square kilometers, a population of about two thousand people and hundreds of thousands of tourists a year.
