The Russkiy Mir II Project is classified by the IFC as a Category B project, which applies to projects expected to have limited adverse social and/or environmental impacts. Though not necessary for IFC Category B projects, the Russian authorities did require a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be conducted.
However, access to this documentation remains elusive to the public, and public hearings have been less than even-handed: both excluding criticism and misrepresenting local opinions. An example of this was the omission of the hearing’s majority vote against the oil and gas terminal construction from the official minutes. In addition to limited disclosure of information, the IFC documents are exclusively in English, thereby significantly limiting local community participation.
Absence of contract and revenue transparency has also been major issues for the public and civil society groups, who have been excluded in revenue monitoring. Requests for compensation for the negative impacts of the project, including decrease in the fish stock, the migration of workers from other regions, a decrease in the tourism industry and damage to roads have been ignored. Emergency response planning, transport of oil and hazardous materials, poverty impacts, and labor standards are also pressing concerns.
Furthermore, Tamanneftegaz began work on the project before a successful conclusion to the environmental examination by Russian law. With the adverse effects on the local economy already taking hold, locals fear a deepening of these problems with the completion of the construction.