Officials from the retinue of the Russian President's plenipotentiary who died in a plane crash in Gorny Altai were poaching, hunting rare animals listed in the Red Book
- The Commission on Rare and Endangered Species under the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia is obliged to initiate an administrative case on the new circumstances of the helicopter crash in Altai in connection with the revealed facts of poaching for the Red Book animals, - said Oleg Mitvol.
This can be considered a coincidence, but the tattoos of the mummy of the shamanic princess Kadyr depict an argali and an irbis - these are totems of her kind. And the Ukok plateau, where the burial ground was found, is located exactly in the area where the plane crash happened …
The photographs taken at the site of the tragedy show the carcasses of the killed mountain sheep Argali. This species, according to biologists, is very rare. In addition, experts do not exclude that hunters could use their meat as bait for snow leopards. Mountain rams and goats are considered its main food. Argali are listed in the Red Book, in Altai there are only about two hundred of them. Therefore, shooting licenses are not issued even for scientific purposes.
And for the roe deer, mountain goat and Siberian goat, the hunting season in the Altai Republic was hastily extended after the plane crash - the Government of the Republic published a decree on this on January 11. It turns out that the high-ranking poachers were already “excused” after the fact …
On the body of the crashed helicopter, bullet holes are visible, according to which experts have established that the bullets flew from the helicopter
Promotional video:
Shocking photos at the scene of the tragedy were taken by local hunters before the arrival of rescuers
Irbis
The places where the helicopter crashed are considered to be one of the habitats of the rarest species of wild cats - the snow leopard, or the irbis. On the territory of Russia, they are found no more than 150 individuals. Hunting for them is prohibited, for the indigenous peoples of the Altai Mountains, the snow leopard is considered a sacred animal. According to legend, it is the snow leopards who guard the entrance to the legendary Shambhala.
But for the "new Russians" the snow leopard is just the most expensive and coveted trophy. Rich hunters are ready to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the skin of the "king of the mountains"! Therefore, the number of snow leopards is constantly decreasing due to poaching.
And all measures to save him seem to be in vain - after all, an official who, according to his position, was obliged to fight poaching, flew to the poaching hunt together with the plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation! Viktor Kaymin, head of the Committee for the Protection, Use and Reproduction of Wildlife Objects of the Altai Republic, is among the seven who died in this cursed hunt …
The hunt could be carried out according to the following scheme: in the daytime the carcasses of rams are laid out for baiting, shelters are equipped. The helicopter flies away, leaving the people behind, and with the onset of darkness, the arrows wait for the leopard from ambush. But a disaster struck …
By the way, it was Kaymin who was one of the co-authors of the “Strategy for the Conservation of the Snow Leopard (Irbis) in Russia” adopted at the government level in 2002! The Strategy … was approved by the Biodiversity Conservation Section of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia and approved by the Head of the State Environmental Protection Service - Deputy Minister of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation M. E. Yakovenko. In this document, the snow leopard is designated as an “endangered species”.
“It’s a pity for the tragically dead people, I condole with their families,” said Yuri Chernyshov, a professor at the Altai School of Political Research. - We must make every effort to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. Apparently, the question will be raised about the legality of the existence in the region of such a system that allows you to “please” high-ranking guests by exterminating rare animals. Influential international environmental organizations have already joined this campaign. They intend to file a complaint with the prosecutor's office on the fact of this tragic hunt, so that law enforcement agencies would find out how legitimate it was. The government has adopted a five-year program for the protection of federal Red Data Books, and a huge amount of money has been allocated for the implementation of the program. And high-ranking federal and regional officials allow themselves to commit crimes,killing rare animals from helicopters for trophies in order to amuse your pride!
Hunting for animals listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the current legislation, is a criminal offense and is qualified in accordance with paragraph "c" of part 1 of article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Hunting with the use of an aircraft is qualified in accordance with paragraph "b" of the same article, which involves a penalty ranging from a fine of 200 thousand rubles to arrest for up to six months. The same acts committed using their official position or by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or by an organized group are qualified in accordance with Part 2 of Article 258, which provides for a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles or imprisonment for up to two years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions.
Tattoos of sacred animals of ancient Altaians are visible on the body of the mummy of Princess Kadyn
Ban
The rector of the Holy Cross Chapel near the White House in Moscow, Father Anatoly, knew the plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation Alexander Kosopkin as a sincerely religious person.
While praying for the souls of those killed in the plane crash, the priest noted with bitterness that on Christmastide, according to ancient customs, it was forbidden to hunt and shed blood.
- There is a sign: “From the Nativity of Khrisov to Epiphany, you cannot hunt - trouble will happen,” says the priest. - And our ancestors were afraid to go to the forest, because it was believed that these days there was an evil spirit raging there. Especially in the primordially shamanic places, in Gorny Altai. After all, it was there that they found the frozen Altai princess-sorceress. And the mountain where the helicopter crashed is not accidentally called Black …
This can be considered a coincidence, but the tattoos of the mummy of the shamanic princess depict an argali and an irbis - these are totems of her kind. And the Ukok plateau is located exactly in the area where the plane crash happened …