Bellona's History in Russia

Bellona’s First Mission to the USSR

Bellona was one of the first organizations to draw attention to cross-border pollution coming from the Soviet Union — particularly sulfur dioxide emissions from nickel production from Monchegorsk near the Norwegian border. Under the slogan “Stop the Clouds of Death from the USSR”, Bellona joined with activists and a local initiative group from Kirkenes to travel to the Soviet Union and raise awareness of the issue.

Voyage to Novaya Zemlya

Bellona activists sailed toward the Novaya Zemlya nuclear testing site aboard their own vessel but were stopped by the Soviet coast guard before reaching it.

This marked the beginning of Bellona’s long-term work on nuclear and radiation safety in Russia, focusing on hazardous nuclear waste stored at military bases on the Kola Peninsula.

Later, Bellona’s reports would become the foundation for internationally funded projects aimed at securing and cleaning up Russia’s nuclear waste.
When the Iron Curtain fell in 1991 and the Soviet Union dissolved, Russia found itself at the center of global attention.

Bellona Opens an Office in Murmansk and publishes its first study on Russia’s nuclear legacy

In 1994, Bellona released its first major report, Sources of Radioactive Contamination in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions — known as the “Black Report.” It analyzed the state of Russia’s nuclear fleet and highlighted the dangers of the floating technical base “Lepse.” The report was presented to the European Commission. This led to the first European funding infusion— €4 million — for nuclear waste cleanup in northern Russia.

During a press conference in Murmansk, Bellona announced the opening of its first Russian office.

Arrest and the “Alexander Nikitin Case”

In February 1996, former Soviet and Russian naval officer Alexander Nikitin, who contributed to Bellona’s “Blue Report”, was arrested and charged with treason and espionage under the ongoing FSB investigation. His case lasted five years, from October 1995 to September 2000. In December 1996, he was released from jail under house restriction, allowing him to remain free but unable to leave St. Petersburg.
Despite government pressure, Bellona published the “Blue Report” that same year, exposing the dangers of decommissioned nuclear submarines, icebreakers, and waste storage sites of Russia’s Northern Fleet — many in critical condition.

Bellona Opens an Office in St. Petersburg

Amid the ongoing Nikitin trial, Bellona founded the Environmental Rights Center Bellona in St. Petersburg with a primarily goal of defending citizens’ rights to a clean and healthyenvironment as well as access to truthful ecological information. The center was founded by lawyer Yuri Schmidt, human rights defender Boris Pustyntsev, and activist Yuri Vdovin.

Full Victory in Court and New Environmental Projects

A final protest by the Prosecutor General was dismissed on September 13, 2000, confirming Nikitin’s full exoneration. He became the only person in Russian and Soviet history to defeat Russia’s security services in a treason case. Amnesty International recognized him as the first prisoner of conscience in post-Soviet Russia.
After five years of legal struggle, Bellona resumed its work on environmental, legal, and informational projects in Northwest Russia. The first major report from the St. Petersburg office focused on the toxic waste dump at Krasny Bor, titled “Toxic Waste Problems in the St. Petersburg Region.”

Launch of the Environment and Rights Magazine & establishing of the inter-parliamentary working group

In 2002, Bellona founded the magazine Environment and Rights, initiated by scientist Alexey Yablokov and Alexander Nikitin. Imprisoned journalist Grigory Pasko became its first editor-in-chief. It has been published for 22 years until 2024 and has had 89 issues. The full archive is available online at ecopravo.org.
In June 2002, Bellona initiated the Inter-Parliamentary Working Group in Brussels — a platform uniting Russian Duma deputies and Members of the European Parliament to address nuclear safety issues in the Arctic. Its second meeting, held in Murmansk, focused on cleanup efforts at Andreeva Bay, Saida Bay, and Lepse.

New Strategy and Start of the Saida Bay Construction Project

In 2004, the Environmental Rights Center Bellona (ERC Bellona) adopted a new strategy for 2004–2005, focused on protecting citizens’ right to a healthy environment and access to ecological information through expert analysis and legal support to activists. The strategy defined four key directions: expert work, legal assistance, information transparency, and education.
That year, Bellona published two reports:
• “Decommissioning Technology for the Lepse Nuclear Service Ship”
• “Russia’s Nuclear Industry: The Need for Reform”
A landmark development in 2004 was the start of the construction of a coastal storage facility for submarine reactor compartments at Saida Bay, near the Nerpa shipyard — financed by the German government with over €600 million. German engineers also designed a specialized system for transporting 40-ton reactor sections and helped build the entire site infrastructure.

“Civil G8” and launch of the Legal Resource Center

In 2006, Bellona actively participated in the “Civil G8” forum in Moscow and the “Chernobyl +20” conference in Kyiv, advocating for renewable energy and energy efficiency instead of nuclear expansion. These public initiatives influenced the final documents of the official G8 Summit.
That year, Bellona launched the Legal Resource Center for Environmental Rights, operating on three levels:
1. Public Legal Clinic for citizen consultations;
2. Administrative and court representation;
3. Legal and legislative expertise on environmental policy.
The legal team handled cases on illegal construction, green space destruction, and waste management violations. Their guide “How to Defend Your Right to a Healthy Environment” became widely used by activists nationwide.
On October 20, 2006, Bellona moved to a new office building in St. Petersburg, funded by Norwegian entrepreneur Arne Vidar (founder of Leiv Vidar AS) and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
That same year, Bellona published the report “Extending the Lifetime of Nuclear Power Plants”.

Legal Clinic and Nuclear Safety Projects

In June 2008 Bellona started the project “Environmental Law Reception Office” (Legal Clinic), providing free legal assistance to citizens defending their right to a healthy environment and encouraging civic engagement. In 2009, it assisted over 270 citizens and 20 local groups, prepared 130 official documents, and conducted 6 court cases — winning three of them.
In October 2008, Bellona co-organized its first seminar with Rosatom, “Unresolved Issues in Spent Nuclear Fuel Management in Russia: The Andreeva Bay Storage Facility — Prospects and Concerns” and produced an analytical report titled “A Subsea Drilling Complex with a Nuclear Power Unit for Developing Offshore Hydrocarbon Fields in Russia’s Arctic Seas”.

Expanding Bellona’s Work in Russia — Industrial Pollution, Black Carbon, and Anti-Corruption Initiatives

In 2010, Bellona expanded its activities in Russia, launching new projects on industrial pollution, climate change, and anti-corruption in environmental governance.
Bellona experts focused on the issue of industrial emissions on the Kola Peninsula, particularly monitoring the operations of the Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company, a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel and one of the region’s largest polluters, and produced a report “Norilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Company: Environmental and Human Health Impacts”.
The Black Carbon Project aimed at reducing human impact on climate. Experts studied the role of agricultural burning in producing black carbon particles transported to the Arctic, altering the Earth’s surface reflectivity and accelerating warming.
Bellona also opened an Anti-Corruption Reception Office in partnership with Transparency International – Russia assisting activists with fighting corruption-related environmental violations.
Two working papers were prepared:
• “Ways to Modernize Russian Environmental Legislation” and
• “The Corruption Component of Environmental Laws in the Russian Federation” (author: N. Evdokimova).
For five years, Bellona joined a coalition of urban preservation and environmental organizations oppose the construction of a Gazprom skyscraper in St. Petersburg’s historic center. Public protests, court proceedings, and sustained advocacy succeeded and the project was canceled.
That same year, Bellona organized the First All-Russian Conference of Environmental Activists, which brought together regional activists to discuss environmental protection and citizen rights. The event became annual until 2016.

Dialogue with Rosatom, the Lepse Decommissioning, and a Landmark Supreme Court Decision

After years of confrontation with Russian authorities over access to nuclear safety information, Bellona entered a new phase of dialogue and cooperation with the state nuclear corporation Rosatom. Alexander Nikitin joined Rosatom’s Public Council, later chairing both the Working Group on Radioactive Waste, Spent Nuclear Fuel, and Decommissioning and the Commission on Ecology.
Through this role, Bellona helped improve transparency, strengthen nuclear waste management practices, and ensure public participation in decision-making on civilian nuclear projects.
On September 14, 2012, one of Russia’s most hazardous vessels — the Lepse floating technical base — was finally towed from Atomflot in Murmansk to the Nerpa shipyard for dismantling.
Bellona had first raised the issue back in 1994; it took nearly 20 years of effort by Russian and international experts to reach this milestone.
Bellona’s Legal Project achieved a major win: after years of advocacy, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation held a plenary session on environmental crime for the first time in decades.
Following a March 15, 2012 meeting between President Dmitry Medvedev and the Presidential Human Rights Council, the Court convened on October 18, 2012 and adopted the ruling
“On the Application of Legislation on Liability for Environmental Violations.”
Although this raised hopes for better judicial protection of environmental rights, these hopes were soon undermined by growing political restrictions and the de-prioritization of environmental issues.

Building Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles

In 2014 Bellona launched a project to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the Russian Arctic, with the goal of promoting sustainable transportation and demonstrating that electric mobility is feasible and convenient even in extreme northern conditions.
In March 2014, marking 20 years of Bellona’s work in Murmansk, Norwegian colleagues drove a Tesla electric car from Norway to Murmansk — the first Tesla ever to reach the city. The visit sparked tremendous public interest. Bellona’s experts later prepared a technical plan for installing charging stations along the route between Murmansk and St. Petersburg and went on to install the first EV charging station in the Russian Arctic.
Reports and working papers prepared in 2014 included:
• Working Paper: Results of Stress Tests at Russian Nuclear Power Plants;
• Radioactive Waste Management: Comments on the Position of Environmental NGOs;
• Decommissioning of Nuclear and Radiation-Hazardous Facilities in Northwestern Russia: Overview of International Cooperation Projects.
• Guide for Civil Activists: Initiating a Criminal Case on Environmental Crimes;
• Renewable Energy on the Kola Peninsula;
• Alternative Methods of Crop Residue Management Without Burning;
• Environmental Education Materials for Schools.

Visa Ban, Legal Work, and International Nuclear Safety Cooperation

In 2016, the President of the Bellona Foundation, Frederic Hauge, received notification from the Russian Embassy that he would no longer be granted a visa or entry into Russia without an explanation.
Key 2016 publications included:
• “Comparison of Radioactive Waste Disposal Fees and Calculation Methods in Russia and Other Countries”;
• “Reality and Prospects of the Environmental Movement in Russia”;
• “Andreeva Bay: Former Coastal Technical Base of the Northern Fleet”.

Expanding work areas

In 2018 Bellona was running several projects: legal support and education, nuclear safety, informational support, industrial pollution, environmental education, Arctic electric road. Under the industrial pollution project Bellona made contacts with Norilsk Nickel participating in a working meeting with company representatives and in their annual environmental conference.
Reports and working papers published in 2018:
– The Nuclear Industry and Public Oversight: Historical Background, Legal Regulation, Current Situation, and Prospects.
– Underground Research Laboratory as Part of the Deep Geological Repository in the Nizhnekansky Rock Mass, Krasnoyarsk Territory.
– Andreeva Bay: Project Chronology 2016–2018.
– Project ‘Lepse’: Status as of 2018.

Legal Victory: Murinsky Park Saved from Development

In 2020, Bellona helped St. Petersburg residents win a landmark court case preventing construction in Murinsky Park and stopping deforestation near Peterhof. After years of public protests, media campaigns, and legal efforts, the court ruled the allocation of parkland for an elite sports complex illegal, restoring the area’s protected status.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Closure of Bellona’s Russian Offices

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Bellona decided to suspend and then permanently close its offices in St. Petersburg and Murmansk, terminating all Russian activities.
Bellona stated that it was impossible to continue constructive work with Russian authorities, businesses, or institutions under wartime conditions and amid widespread violations of international law and human rights.