Russian ecologists organized a coalition...

The coalition is also aimed to cancel a resolution signed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and create alternative job positions for pulp employees in Baikalsk by developing ecologically and socially orientated companies.

Vladimir Putin signed a resolution in mid-January, excluding the production of pulp, paper and cardboard from the list of operations banned in the Baikal natural territory, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Environmentalists decried Putin"s move and were planning to appeal to President Dmitry Medvedev.

"We will address UNESCO to stop Baikal pollution," the statement said.

A number of non-governmental organizations, including Greenpeace Russia and WWF Russia joined the coalition.

A public campaign to close or convert the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill built in 1966 on the shores of the world"s largest freshwater lake became one of the symbols of Glasnost, the "openness" policy proclaimed by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev

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