Recently the Russian oil company Surgutneftegas had a "public" hearing in secret about a project involving three oil drilling wells on wetlands near Numto lake, a territory where oil drilling was prohibited. Only few people from Numto park were invited to the hearing. When people found out, a conflict escalated.
Nenets and Khanty people wrote an anonymous letter to the prosecutor office to state, declaring their firm opposition to oil drilling and that the industry had not consulted them.
On the 17th of March a press team traveled up to the village to document the meeting with the government and the oil company and make interviews with people. Access to the village however is controlled by the oil company who formally owns all the privatized roads developed for drilling project infrastructure. People are finding it increasingly difficult to be able to tell their story to the press. They feel like living like prisoners surrounded by oil industry infrastructure roads.