Law enforcer who persecuted Poltavskaya activists declared wanted

In Kuban (Krasnodar Territory), Andrei Kolontaevsky, a deputy division head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) branch for the Krasnoarmeisky District, has been declared wanted. The activists from the village of Poltavskaya, who are fighting against the garbage dump, have noted that Kolontaevsky had waged repressions against them.

The above Kolontaevsky has been put on the federal wanted list. The "Wanted" database on the Russian MIA’s website states that Kolontaevsky Andrei Ivanovich, born in 1976, "is wanted under an article of the Russian Criminal Code."

The “Krasnodar” TV channel reports, citing a source in the territorial law enforcement bodies, that investigating actions against him were launched on April 21; and the next day Kolontaevsky stopped responding. On May 1, he was declared wanted.

Activists from Poltavskaya have reminded the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that it was Andrei Kolontaevsky who was actively involved in suppressing protests.

"Lieutenant Colonel Kolontaevsky himself, as we know, lived 30 kilometres away from the garbage dump located in the village of Poltavskaya and came to us personally with his team of subordinates to give orders for them to suppress street protests, draw up protocols against us, and take us to custody," said Vadim Motovilov, who, however, treats Kolontaevsky as just a link in the corruption chain.

“This is how he dispersed our protests without any compassion.”

“The main perpetrator of persecutions of the Poltavskaya activists, who were fighting the dump, was Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Kolontaevsky. I remember when we were blocking the bridge, which is now popularly called “Uncle Yura Trubachov’s Bridge”, Kolontaevsky personally came and gave the order to grab us all ... and throw us face down in the ground. They grabbed us. They twisted our arms and hands from behind with handcuffs ... so that the trucks with garbage could drive past us. This is how he dispersed our protests without any compassion,” Sergey Salnikov, an activist, shared his memories.

He also believes that Kolontaevsky is just one from the grouping of officials who were engaged in persecuting activists; and that former district bosses were in command of everything.

“We have no document on the closure of this dump,”

Despite the fact that the garbage dump in Poltavskaya is no longer functioning, there is no formal confirmation of its closure. “Everything has calmed down now, but I am in the hospital, I am sick. And the saddest thing is that we have no document on this dump closure. It was closed in words, but courts are rejecting us. Now we’ve filed a cassation appeal,” Lyudmila Grishkova, an activist, who is undergoing treatment at the Krasnoarmeisky District Hospital, has explained.

Natalia Garyaeva, the coordinator of the initiative group, has emphasized that the fight for the dump reclamation and the official recognition of its closure continues. “There is no garbage being brought in now; everything has calmed down. But the problem still remains, as does the one of corruption in power. With Kolontaevsky’s escape, there are still many questions for those who gave him the task of persecuting us, and for those who performed [his] orders,” Ms Garyaeva has stated, also recalling that Kolontaevsky had personally blocked the bus with villagers in order to prevent them from meeting with the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory.

Activists have demanded an investigation not only into Kolontaevsky's case, but also into the role of all those involved in pressuring the villagers who were defending their right to clean ai

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 7, 2025 at 02:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.