Workers expanding the Port of Ust-Luga, located near the Bay of Lauga, do not see any danger to villages in the immediate vicinity of the construction and have even promised to help the Votes, wrote Kogita.ru. About this reports FennoUgria Asutus.

In response to an article about the fate of the Votes published on the webpage, a company bearing the name Kompanija Ust-Luga wrote that the village of Jõgõperä (Krakolje) will not be leveled; such a plan does not exist in a single construction document.

The firm also confirmed that an industrial zone will not be placed on the territory of Luutsa (Luuditsa, Luzhitsy) village as was previously planned. Kompanija Ust-Luga actually promised to help the Votian society and Jõgõperä School to preserve the people's heritage.

To this day, nearly 30 Votes live in the three villages located in Laugasuu – Jõgõperä, Luutsa and Liivčyläs (Peski). Initially, those constructing the harbor and a city arising next to it did indeed plan to "demolish morally outdated structures" of the Votes; yet after Russian linguists and ethnographers turned towards Russian authorities over two years ago with a plea to protect the Votes from destruction, the construction firm promised to leave the buildings in Jõgõperä untouched and preserve Votian and Izhorian national styles in overall construction of the city.

At the same time, however, Ust-Luga company directors have stated that further demolition decisions may be made during the course of work. The directors have also claimed the buzz around the Votian villages have caused a battle over power and the Votes' status.

After city construction plans were made public, Leningrad Oblast applied for recognition of the Votes in Russia as a Northern indigenous people; they received this status in October 2008, theoretically giving them more rights in using land and natural resources.