Environmental activist Igor Sapatov, who fought against the illegal acquisition and development of land along the banks of the Kama and Volga rivers, has been shot dead in a village near Kazan, Kasparov.ru, citing the Evening Kazan newspaper, reported on 23 July.

The environmentalist’s body was discovered on the outskirts of the village of Ten’ki with a bullet wound.

“Igor continued to campaign against these violations. He wrote about seedlings that were stolen from local forest areas to ‘improve’ these stolen lands. He even directly named the beneficiary. He said that Suvar, one of the largest companies for high-priced real estate in Tatarstan, was developing the stolen land for sale,” the newspaper quotes.

Evening Kazan also reports that there had been previous attempts on the activist’s life. These included trying to set Igor’s home on fire, attacking him with a knife, and throwing live ammunition at him. All related criminal cases were closed because “no suspects were found.”