The other ‘Vladimir’
Meet Vladimir Slivyak, one of Russia's most prominent environmentalists, who has spent three decades igniting grassroots campaigns against climate change and spurring on a new generation of activists in the face of formidable opposition from authorities.
The work of an environmental activist is never easy, but in Russia the job comes with an extremely high risk of imprisonment, a lack of resources and a government that refuses to take global warming seriously. Against these odds, in 1989 Vladimir cofounded Ecodefense in the city of Kaliningrad and became one of the country's leading voices for environmental protection. In 2013 he led Russia's first anti-coal campaign. Uniting local communities around the country, it led to a rapid growth of anti-coal protests, proving grassroots campaigns can challenge coal even when it's backed by a powerful government.
For Vladimir, education and youth are his most powerful weapons. Since 1995 he has conducted environmental education programmes for over 10,000 students and 1,000 teachers. Today, Ecodefense remains a reliable source of information on Russian environmental issues and boasts an incredible track record of successful campaigns. In 2014 Ecodefense became the first environmental group to be listed as a ‘foreign agent’ by the government. Undeterred, Vladimir relocated staff to different parts of Europe to ensure the work continued and that his co-workers were safe.
Despite the risks and the incredible odds stacked against him, Vladimir is committed to ushering in a more sustainable future for his homeland and for the world. “There are much bigger things than our fear. If you start to work on things like protecting the environment against climate change, you shouldn’t really stop. Activism is what changes the world.”
