By Nataliya Zotova
BBC Russian
January 18, 2024
Dog-lovers are racing to save hundreds of stray dogs in Russia’s Far East, because of a decision by authorities to start putting them down.
Eighteen have been culled so far in the Eastern Siberian town of UIan-Ude, close to the Mongolian border.
Six hundred dogs have already been sent by train to new homes or private shelters elsewhere in Russia.
“A lot of good-hearted people have responded,” volunteer Stella Ovsoyan told BBC Russian.
They have boarded trains to Moscow, St Petersburg and Kazan in the west, and Khabarovsk and Vladivostok further east.