I think this case is a good example of how much you can achieve if you have persistence and faith. Late last year I was approached by residents of the village of Zverosovkhoz in Pushkinsky district of Moscow region for help in closing down a private helicopter pad that had been illegally built within the village. The residents complained about the insufferable noise and constant pollution - dust, fumes, smoke during helicopter startups, manoeuvres, takeoffs and landings. The residents were also worried that all the helicopter activity in the air above them was creating a risk of emergencies and possible accidents.
According to the petition, the pad had been built in the very centre of the village, just a few yards away from a kindergarten, school, children’s ski school and a mass of residential blocks, right in a children’s football pitch where the owner of the land had managed to squeeze in a runway, an aerodrome and even 15 parking places and some other facilities that are no doubt essential for helicopter bases. This site, which is totally unacceptable for a residential village, was known as Pushkino helicopter port, and operated for a number of years with no permits whatever. The residents said that all their attempts to seek protection from the authorities had failed. And although, in 2005, the local prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case in connection with the illegal construction of the helicopter port, this was not seen through to a conclusion. In February 2006, the case was taken over by the Moscow Region prosecutor’s office and then closed one month later (in March), and it has still not been handed back to the district prosecutor.

It was at that point that the residents decided to ask for my help. After studying the dossier I decided to send two formal deputy’s requests: one to the Moscow Region prosecutor S.V.Zamuruev, and one to the head of the Federal Aeronavigation Service A.V.Neradko, asking them to review the villagers’ petition and take the appropriate action.
Very quickly, in just a few days, I got a reply form Rosaviatsiya (the Federal Air Transport Agency) saying that they had reviewed the case and confirmed the facts stated in the villagers’ petition, and that operations at the Pushkino helicopter port had been suspended. No flights were being carried out. The Moscow inter-regional transport prosecutor’s office was meanwhile checking the legality of the port’s operations. The reply from Rosaviatsiya further stated that a decision had been taken to draw up a procedure to be followed by local government and law-enforcement agencies to prevent unlawful use of Russian airspace.
So far there has been no response from the Moscow Region prosecutor’s office, but I will continue to keep an eye on the situation.