On Monday, the Baikal Irkutsk region after 14 months of downtime should officially open the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM). RF Government Resolution authorizing execution of environmentally hazardous enterprises, was the occasion for the two mass rallies in the center of Irkutsk. "United Russia" and the mill workers were protesting in support of restarting the plant, but environmentalists and the opposition at a rally under the slogan "Save Lake Baikal!" demanded the resignation of Vladimir Putin, signed a scandalous decision, writes the newspaper Kommersant. 

Since autumn 2008 BPPM hasn't worked, due to request Rosprirodnadzor  to switch to the closed loop water circulation system, which does not allow  wastewater to fall into Baikal. Closed water cycle, however, did not allow any company that is the payer for the Baikal, manufacture products, while maintaining profitability. In October 2009, at BPPM was introduced monitoring procedures: Mill was on the verge of bankruptcy and its planned closure. 

In early 2010, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a decree which allowed the mill to work again, dropping production waste into Baikal. This Deripaska promised Ministry of Natural Resources for three years to develop the technology, not allowing the discharge of industrial waste company in Lake Baikal. BPPM scheduled to launch on February 15 that has already sparked riots in Irkutsk. 

February 13 in Irkutsk was once two of the meeting. Members of one of them demanded close BPPM, participants expressed support for the second run of the plant. Earlier BPPM repeatedly criticized environmentalists, claiming that the plant discharges raw sewage into Lake Baikal. 

In 1996 Lake Baikal was declared a World Heritage site.Environmentalists hope that UNESCO will help to protect Lake Baikal, in the zone which is scheduled to resume the Pulp and Paper Mill (PPM).