Inside Russia: Where green and black snow falls from the sky

A video still that shows black snow in Russia. Photo / Twitter, SaharAzeri

Green and black snow falling on polluted Russian towns has compounded rising environmental protests that are chipping away at President Vladimir Putin's ratings.

The bizarre phenomena triggered demonstrations against unscrupulous polluters, including a coal processing plant that turned snow black, a chrome factory that turned snow green in Pervouralsk, and a burning copper and zinc mine that has inundated Sibai with smog since November.

It comes after a series of separate protests against plans to export Moscow waste to the regions.

Authorities raided the homes of activists in late January before public demonstrations.

Among those raided was the flat of Vyacheslav Yegorov and his family in Kolomna, 95km south-east of Moscow, one of the many cities importing Moscow's waste for processing.

"The authorities wanted to remove him as a leader and neutralise the protest," said Olga Mirzayeva, Yegorov's wife. "It's to isolate him so he can't speak out anymore... about the poisoning of the water and soil, what we drink and grow to eat."

Demonstrations have increasingly shaken provincial Russia, the bedrock of the President's support.

An independent survey this week pegged Putin's job approval at 64 per cent, 12 points lower than a year ago.

Last month, trust in the President fell to a record low of 33 per cent.

Moscow has been scrambling to deal with the rubbish of its 13 million people since residents of the suburb of Balashikha reached Putin during a televised hotline in 2017 and convinced him to close a huge tip there dubbed the "waste Everest".

Toxic GREEN snow falling on polluted Russian towns sparks widespread environmental protests https://t.co/kIfESTsrEp

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) February 24, 2019

Soon trucks were ferrying more waste to dumps in nearby cities and locals were complaining about noxious fumes that caused headaches, nosebleeds and chronic weakness.

Among the 44 cites that saw protests earlier this month was Urdoma, where hunters last year discovered a tip secretly being built in the woods.

In an annual address last week mostly dedicated to growing economic problems, Putin lashed out at "shady firms... dumping rubbish wherever and however they can" and called for better implementation of a reform to create a unified waste management company in each region.

Kolomna complained that the reform has only raised rubbish removal fees.

Several of these waste removal firms are run by relatives of high-ranking officials, including the sons of the prosecutor general and state bank director.

Authorities in one town reportedly attempted to cover up coal-polluted snow with white paint. https://t.co/VL7BtdHpNu

— Smithsonian Magazine (@SmithsonianMag) February 21, 2019