ARKHANGELSK. March 25 (Interfax) - Greenpeace activists from Russia, Germany and Austria held a rally in Arkhangelsk on Monday protesting the cutting of the last virgin forests of the European North. Having chained themselves to each other and thus forming a living chain, the environmentalists closed the entrances to the Solombal pulp and paper plant and spread a banner in Russian and English demanding that the destruction of the virgin forests be stopped. Greenpeace believes the administration of the Arkhangelsk region "is pursuing an irresponsible and shortsighted policy, failing to pay attention to the barbaric methods used for cutting trees in these unique forests." In addition, according to the environmentalists, the local authorities have stopped creating new natural reserves, such as the Onezhskoye Pomorye and Belomorsko-Kuloyskoye Plato national parks. As a result, the old fir-groves are replaced with secondary birch-aspen forests, and forest villages are left without any means of subsistence or hope for the future. Greenpeace suggested developing a system of measures aimed at preserving the valuable native forests in the northwest of Russia. "If this is not done, in a couple of decades, today's native forests will turn into a gigantic plantation of birch brooms," said Greenpeace Russia Coordinator Alexei Yaroshenko. The Arkhangelsk rally is part of Greenpeace's global campaign aimed against the cutting of native forests, over 80% of which have already been destroyed. Protest rallies were also held in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Italy, China, Brazil, Finland, and other countries.