Official website’s inaccessibility raises questions about information transparency

The website of the Russian Centre for the Protection of Forests, also known as Roslesozashchita (www.rcfh.ru), has been inaccessible since 13 August, shortly after it contradicted the government by reporting that forest fires had reached areas that were contaminated by radiation during the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Roslesozashchita, an agriculture ministry offshoot, reported last week that there were fires on around 4,000 hectares of land that were contaminated, including 300 hectares in the Bryansk areas, which is very close to Chernobyl. The reports posted on the agency’s website contradicted the government’s reassuring comments. The ministry of emergencies insisted that the forest fires sweeping much of the region had not reached any of the areas affected by Chernobyl. Shortly before the site went down on 13 August, emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu criticised “unclear information from an unclear website.” The website’s inaccessibility is highly suspect. Reporters Without Borders wonders whether the Russian authorities simply blocked access because the information it was posting was proving to be very embarrassing. Greenpeace Russia has meanwhile said that the current level of radioactivity poses no health risk.