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The independent Russian data project \u201cTo\u00a0Be\u00a0Precise\u201d has published an\u00a0article<\/a> explaining how Russia\u2019s \u201cRed Book\u201d is\u00a0compiled, why it\u00a0exists, and why it\u00a0periodically touches off scandals. We\u2019re retelling it\u00a0here, with a\u00a0few examples and details of\u00a0our own.<\/p>\n Why the Red Book exists<\/p>\n The Red Book is\u00a0a\u00a0list of\u00a0animals, plants, and fungi whose survival is\u00a0in\u00a0doubt. Russia has regional Red Books in\u00a0addition to\u00a0the national one<\/a>. The International Union for Conservation of\u00a0Nature also maintains a\u00a0global Red List<\/a>.<\/p>\n Under Russian law, the state is\u00a0obligated to\u00a0protect<\/a> the species on\u00a0the national list. Killing, storing, transporting, collecting, keeping, acquiring, or\u00a0selling a\u00a0listed animal or\u00a0plant \u2014 or\u00a0destroying its habitat \u2014 carries a\u00a0fine<\/a> of\u00a0up\u00a0to\u00a05,000 rubles for individuals and up\u00a0to\u00a01 million rubles for companies and organizations. Russia\u2019s Criminal Code sets out punishments for anyone who:<\/p>\n destroys habitat that is\u00a0critical to\u00a0organisms listed in\u00a0the Red Book (Article 259<\/a>);destroys, damages, collects, stores, sells, buys, transports, or\u00a0ships \u201cespecially valuable\u201d (Article 260.1<\/a>);kills, keeps in\u00a0captivity, buys, stores, transports, ships, or\u00a0sells \u201cespecially valuable\u201d , or\u00a0their parts (Article 258.1<\/a>).<\/p>\n Some offenders have been given prison terms rather than suspended sentences: in\u00a0one case for killing an\u00a0Amur tiger<\/a>, in\u00a0another for selling a\u00a0tiger carcass<\/a>.<\/p>\n Who decides what goes in\u00a0the Red Book<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Natural Resources Ministry maintains the Red Book<\/a> and makes the final decision on\u00a0whether to\u00a0add a\u00a0species, refuse to\u00a0add it, or\u00a0remove\u00a0it. The ministry acts on\u00a0recommendations from the Commission on\u00a0Rare and Endangered Animals, Plants, and Fungi, which accepts proposals both from scientific institutions and from ordinary members of\u00a0the public.<\/p>\n The fiercest disputes over what to\u00a0add and what to\u00a0drop involve species prized by\u00a0trophy hunters. Hunters argue that listing a\u00a0species does nothing on\u00a0its own to\u00a0rebuild its population, whereas breeding it\u00a0on\u00a0game preserves, where people pay to\u00a0shoot, does help.<\/p>\n Tatyana Aramileva is\u00a0probably the loudest voice in\u00a0that camp<\/a>. She spent years heading the before the Natural Resources Ministry appointed her to\u00a0head its department for wildlife protection and hunting policy. In\u00a02025, responsibility for the Red Book passed<\/a> to\u00a0that department, setting off a\u00a0major scandal<\/a>. Oversight ultimately returned<\/a> to\u00a0the ministry\u2019s department for specially protected natural areas.<\/p>\n Sometimes Red Book animals cause problems for people, and that can sway the commission. The Volga-Ural population of\u00a0saiga antelope, for instance, was removed from the book<\/a> because the animals trample fields and eat crops.<\/p>\n As\u00a0\u201cTo\u00a0Be\u00a0Precise\u201d notes, the removal of\u00a0certain invertebrates \u2014 mollusks or\u00a0annelid worms, for example \u2014 may have less to\u00a0do\u00a0with their numbers growing than with scientists getting better at\u00a0finding them.<\/p>\n Which animals are most at\u00a0risk<\/p>\n The latest edition of\u00a0Russia\u2019s Red Book of\u00a0Animals came out in\u00a02020<\/a>; the edition for plants and fungi followed in\u00a02023<\/a>. The book now lists , 152 of\u00a0them added for the first time. A\u00a0further 122 species were dropped from the previous edition. Half of\u00a0the new entries are invertebrates and half are vertebrates, mostly birds and reptiles.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Red Book classifies animals by\u00a0rarity into five categories<\/a>:<\/p>\n Probably extinctEndangeredDeclining in\u00a0number and\/or range, a\u00a0category accounting for about half of\u00a0listed speciesRareStatus undetermined<\/p>\n Russia currently counts 11 species as\u00a0probably extinct. The category covers<\/a> species not seen in\u00a0their known habitat for a\u00a0long time \u2014 100 years for invertebrates, 50 years for vertebrates. \u201cThe dhole, or\u00a0Asiatic wild dog, used to\u00a0be\u00a0found in\u00a0southern Siberia and the Far East, but its presence in\u00a0Russia hasn\u2019t been confirmed for several decades,\u201d the authors of\u00a0\u201cTo\u00a0Be\u00a0Precise\u201d write. \u201cSome reported sightings were probably mistaken; the animals were being confused with reddish-coated gray wolves. No\u00a0one knows for certain why the species disappeared. Scientists point to\u00a0the use of\u00a0poison, a\u00a0decline in\u00a0hoofed-animal populations, disease, and competition with the gray wolf. The striped hyena met a\u00a0similar fate: it\u00a0once lived in\u00a0southern Dagestan but was last seen there in\u00a01953<\/a>. Like the dhole, the hyena suffered from a\u00a0shrinking food supply and from poisoning.\u201d<\/p>\n Animals that have died out altogether are not listed in\u00a0the Red Book. Over the past 400 years, nine species and subspecies have disappeared<\/a> from Russian territory, among them the aurochs, the steppe tarpan, and Steller\u2019s sea cow.<\/p>\n What can be\u00a0done to\u00a0save these animals<\/p>\n The Red Book also sorts animals, plants, and fungi into a\u00a0second set of\u00a0categories that describe how a\u00a0species is\u00a0faring in\u00a0the wild:<\/p>\n extinct in\u00a0the wild;extinct in\u00a0the Russian Federation;critically endangered;endangered;vulnerable;near threatened;of\u00a0least concern.<\/p>\n And it\u00a0groups them by\u00a0the kind of\u00a0help their populations need:<\/p>\n immediate protective measures, plus a\u00a0conservation strategy that is\u00a0drawn up\u00a0and carried out;one or\u00a0more specific measures to\u00a0save the species;nothing beyond the measures already in\u00a0place (the work of\u00a0nature reserves, for example).<\/p>\n When more drastic action is\u00a0needed, one option is\u00a0captive breeding followed by\u00a0release into the wild, the approach used with Przewalski\u2019s horses.<\/p>\n Since the previous edition of\u00a0the Red Book, conditions have improved for 19 percent of\u00a0the animals listed, enough to\u00a0move them into a\u00a0different category. The authors of\u00a0\u201cTo\u00a0Be\u00a0Precise\u201d offer this example:<\/p>\n The humpback whale was classified in\u00a0the first category (\u2018threatened with extinction\u2019) in\u00a01997, but by\u00a0the 2020 list had moved to\u00a0the fifth (\u2018recovered and recovering\u2019). Commercial whaling had almost wiped the species out in\u00a0Russian waters. But after an\u00a0international moratorium on\u00a0whaling took effect in\u00a01986, the humpback population began to\u00a0recover, and sightings became more frequent, especially since the mid-2000s. There are no\u00a0exact figures for the population in\u00a0Russia, but experts estimate that more than 2,000 animals now live in\u00a0the Far East.<\/p>\n How the rules on\u00a0Red Book animals, plants, and fungi change in\u00a02026<\/p>\n \u201dRules allowing the taking<\/a> of\u00a0Red Book species in\u00a0exceptional cases, including for monitoring population status, had been in\u00a0force since 1997,\u201d the authors of\u00a0\u201cTo\u00a0Be\u00a0Precise\u201d write. \u201cBut the 2009 law on\u00a0hunting<\/a> directly prohibited this, creating a\u00a0legal contradiction.\u201d Amendments passed at\u00a0the end of\u00a02020 lifted that ban<\/a>. New rules<\/a> on\u00a0the taking of\u00a0Red Book species were issued in\u00a02026 and take effect on\u00a0September 1.<\/p>\n The list of\u00a0justifications for killing Red Book animals or\u00a0destroying Red Book plants and fungi has grown considerably. It\u00a0now covers not only \u201cmonitoring population status\u201d but also, for example, \u201cthe construction and reconstruction of\u00a0facilities of\u00a0federal and regional significance, \u2026 as\u00a0well as\u00a0facilities provided for under the investment agreements of\u00a0Russian regions\u201d \u2014 provided there is\u00a0nowhere else to\u00a0put the project. The change opens major opportunities<\/a> for developers and mining companies.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of\u00a0preserving Red Book species in\u00a0their natural habitat, the state is\u00a0proposing a\u00a0procedure for removing them from the land slated for development,\u201d the Russian environmental outlet Kedr writes<\/a>. \u201cThis is\u00a0especially dangerous for plants and fungi. They cannot be\u00a0protected simply by\u00a0\u2018collecting\u2019 or\u00a0\u2018transplanting\u2019 them: many species depend on\u00a0specific soil, hydrological conditions, mycorrhizal fungi, neighboring species, and the wider ecosystem. Destroying a\u00a0habitat often means destroying the species itself in\u00a0that area.\u201d<\/p>\n At\u00a0Meduza, we\u00a0are committed to\u00a0transparency about our use of\u00a0artificial intelligence in\u00a0the newsroom. The story you\u2019re reading was written by\u00a0one of\u00a0our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an\u00a0AI\u00a0model configured to\u00a0follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is\u00a0the result of\u00a0extensive testing and refinements to\u00a0ensure our English-language coverage is\u00a0timely and accurate. A\u00a0Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.<\/p>\n If\u00a0you find any errors in\u00a0this translation, please contact us\u00a0at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n