Residents and activists fight to save Russian national park

On the outskirts of Moscow, the Losiny Ostrov — or ‘Elk Island’ — national park offers a respite from urban life in the Russian capital. But the nature reserve, home to hundreds of species of wildlife including endangered birds, has come under increasing threat from construction work. Those opposing a highway set to carve through the park have found themselves arrested, interrogated and fined, with environmental activists among the dissident voices being silenced amid Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. “There’s no democracy,” says Dmitry Trunin, an environmental defence lawyer.