Rivers of milk, shores of jelly: a 'sour-milk' swamp found in Kotelnich District

      According to People's Front activists, not far from the Kotel'nich–Darovskoy highway, at the turnoff to the village of Kurino, there is a marshy area where tractors with water-spraying tanks arrive almost daily. A liquid resembling dairy industry waste is poured from them. The surface of the bog is covered with thick foam, and the smell resembles sour milk.

      According to residents, the effluent enters the forested area and during rains flows downhill, likely toward the Kurinka River. They believe the waste is being dumped by a local cheese and dairy producer. The company has already come under the scrutiny of regulators: in 2019 and 2021, after the intervention of the People's Front, its involvement in polluting the Kurinka was proven. The company was fined then, and later reported repairs to its treatment facilities.

      Now activists have recorded a new discharge site — not directly into the river, but into a bog about 100 meters from it.

      "It is difficult to assess the area of contamination. It is visible that the 'sour-milk' bog flows downslope for at least a hundred meters; it is impossible to walk around it without the risk of getting stuck. We have sent an appeal to the regional Ministry of Environmental Protection, which should control the quality of effluents from industrial enterprises and also issues permits for the use of water bodies. We understand that officials from this agency will visit the site in the near future. If necessary, samples will be taken and laboratory testing conducted," said People's Front expert Alexey Dudin.