Johnson's Russias List
#6581
1 December 2002
davidjohnson@erols.com
A CDI Project
www.cdi.org

[Contents:
  1. Reuters: Russians warned of hazards as temperatures plunge.
  2. Chicago Tribune: Stephen Hedges, Senator sets sights on old Russia arms.
Lugar wants focus on disposal effort.(Lugar)
  3. Boston Globe: David Filipov, New fears Chechens may seek nukes.
Suspicious events concern Russians.
  4. Indianapolis Star: Bruce Stanley, U.S. looks to Russia as vital oil
supplier
Burgeoning Arctic outpost symbolizes nation's new push to tap its rich
reserves.
  5. UPI: Man accused of Putin forgery is caught.
  6. ITAR-TASS: Russia could learn about agricultural production from the
West - 
minister.
  7. BBC Monitoring: Russian Social Democrats headed by Gorbachev get ready
for 
election.
  8. BBC Monitoring: Russia's Channel One launches revamped portal.
  9. Reuters: China, Russia to showcase ties as Putin visits.
  10. The Straits Times (Singapore): Meet President Putin's hidden dragons 
Russian leader's daughters are learning wushu and Chinese     
  11. People's Daily Online: Full Text of Russian President's Interview
with Xinhua
  12. Peters J. Vecrumba: Re: 6573-Weir/Latvia.
  13. BBC Monitoring: Russian TV boss defends coverage of Moscow hostage
siege 
(Boris Jordan)
  14. Los Angeles Times: Jessica Garrison, Trying to Recapture Russian
Emigres' 
Life in Mexico. The few descendants of a religious sect that fled czar's
empire 
100 years ago now put faith in trading on heritage to keep their ancestry
alive.]

*******

#1
Russians warned of hazards as temperatures plunge

MOSCOW, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Doctors urged Muscovites to take precautions
against respiratory and heart ailments on Saturday as temperatures plunging
towards minus 27 Celsius gripped the city of 10 million.

Medical services reported five deaths from 34cases of hypothermia, nearly
all involving homeless or drunk Muscovites.

Plumes of smoke hung in an unusually cloudless sky and streets were
uncharacteristicallyor a Saturday.

Forecasters predicted already freezing temperatures would plunge on
Saturday night to minus 27 Celsius (minus 17 Fahrenheit).

The cold snap and Russians' preoccupation with changes in atmospheric
pressure prompted a flood of advice from doctors.

"Leaving a warm building and going outside into the cold  street,
particularly with a wind, can cause spasms of coronary blood vessels,"
cardiologist Yuri Belenkov told NTV television.

"Patients with angina should take tablets before going outside and take
medicines for widening arteries."

Deaths from cold are commonplace in Moscow, though recent winters have seen
few steep dips in temperature. Medical officials, quoted by media, put this
season's death toll at 106 since early October.

The daily Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid ran a page of ways of coping with
the cold and staying out of trouble, advising readers to stay off the
street if they drank.

"Remember, it is better to spend the night in a drunk tank than to end up
with your own spot in a cemetery," it said.

*******

#2
Chicago Tribune
December 1, 2002
Senator sets sights on old Russia arms
Lugar wants focus on disposal effort
By Stephen J. Hedges
Washington Bureau
Published December 1, 2002

WASHINGTON -- With his return as the chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, Indiana Republican Richard Lugar plans to redirect
attention to a $1 billion-a-year program to help Russia secure and dispose
of huge quantities of Cold War nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

During his second tenure, Lugar will have an important voice in the debate
over how the nation fights terrorism and on a future conflict with Iraq.
The focus on Russia's decaying nuclear arsenal will be a significant area
in the effort to keep terrorists from acquiring mass-murder weapons.
 
"The greatest crisis is terrorists getting their hands on weapons of mass
destruction," said Lugar, an independent-minded Republican who also chaired
the committee from 1985-86.

"We ought to identify which countries have weapons of mass destruction, and
as an international community, we ought to make sure that these countries
have the means to make this material secure."

Known colloquially as Nunn-Lugar, after Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn
(D-Ga.), the effort to secure and destroy a large share of Russia's weapons
has been hobbled in recent years by cost overruns, critical government
audits and doubts from powerful conservatives, including some within the
Bush administration.

Critics argue that the initiative, carried out largely during the
presidency of Bill Clinton, simply modernizes and does not reduce Russia's
weapons capability. Influential voices within the administration have
questioned the wisdom of the aid to Russia.

"We need to be aware of the fact that Russia, in particular, claims to lack
the financial resources to eliminate weapons of mass destruction but
continues to invest scarce resources in the development of newer, more
sophisticated [intercontinental ballistic missiles] and other weapons,"
said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Even the Sept. 11 attacks, which underscored the potential danger if
terrorists obtained nuclear weapons or uranium for a radioactive "dirty"
bomb, did not fully revive concerns over Russia's aging stockpiles,
according to proliferation and foreign policy experts.

Power of the chair

To that end, they view Lugar's new committee chairmanship as a chance to
bring new pressure to bear on the administration on this issue.

"He will serve as both a partner and a critic of the president," said Lee
Hamilton, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
and a former Indiana congressman. "He will try to be helpful and
constructive in advancing the president's foreign policy agenda. But the
role he will play, as the role he has played in Congress, is to not
hesitate to be critical of the president when he thinks he can be helpful."

Lugar, 70, was first elected to the Senate in 1976 and has become one of
its steadying voices, though not always one that toes the party line. He
made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in
1996, but he survived that defeat no worse for wear in the Senate.

While conservative on many issues, Lugar has broken with the party on
environmental issues and gun control.

He revealed himself as an activist Foreign Relations Committee chairman
during his first tenure, pressing for the Philippine elections that would
mark an end to the rule of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, a longtime U.S. ally.

He also helped usher in a Senate vote on an end to apartheid rule in South
Africa. And he played central roles in Senate ratification of the START 1,
START 2 and INF Treaties, as well as the Chemical Weapons Convention and
the expansion of NATO.

But he is best-known for the program he and Nunn pressed through Congress
in 1991.

That act created the Pentagon's Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction, the
foundation for an array of efforts within the Defense and Energy
Departments to help Russia dismantle its nuclear weapons; dispose of, store
or blend down uranium and plutonium; and destroy the missiles, submarines
and bombers that could deliver the deadly weapons.

Nuclear arms scattered widely

The collapse of the Soviet Union left nearly 30,000 nuclear weapons spread
mostly across the four nations of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
U.S. diplomacy and money persuaded Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine to ship
hundreds of missiles and warheads back to Russia, where they could be
disposed of more readily.

Controversial from the start, the program won congressional backing chiefly
because Lugar and Nunn were viewed as respected, moderate voices in the
Senate.

Bipartisan lectern-pounding

The senators argued that it was essential to offer Russia help when it was
most likely to accept it, just as the Soviet Union was crumbling and lacked
the financial and scientific means to maintain its nuclear inventories.

Nunn and Lugar, as well as a number of proliferation experts, also feared
that Russian black market or mob opportunists might acquire and then peddle
nuclear material to any and all comers, a possibility the Sept. 11 attacks
drove home.

"I don't think it [Sept. 11] increased the threat," said Nunn, who has
become chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a
non-proliferation group.

"I think it made millions of people and lots of policymakers aware of a
threat that had been there for a number of years and had been growing."

In 10 years, the U.S. has helped Russia dismantle more than 5,990 nuclear
weapons, more than 1,200 missiles, 97 bombers, and a number of launchers
and other arms. The overall aid effort also has expanded to include the
conversion of Russian nuclear sites to peaceful uses, retraining an
estimated 7,000 scientists and tightening security around hundreds of often
poorly guarded facilities.

By 2007, the Nunn-Lugar initiative calls for the elimination of nearly
9,900 nuclear warheads, more than 2,000 missiles, 1,400 launchers and
silos, 131 bombers, and 41 nuclear submarines.

Some programs, such as the construction of a plutonium storage center at
Mayak, a central Russian city in the Ural Mountains, have wildly exceeded
their budgets. Mayak originally was estimated to cost $500million, with the
U.S. and Russia each paying half. Today, the cost is expected to top $1
billion, and Russia has paid just a fraction of its share.

Price of safety

Lugar acknowledges those overruns and the criticism they have drawn. But he
argues that there is nothing simple or cheap about protecting plutonium in
a remote corner of Russia.

"This is not an easy place to build secure storage for up to 6,000
warheads' worth of plutonium," he said. "The hazards of simply getting the
plutonium there--the safety of the rail car and the trestles--is no mean feat.

"On the other hand, the failure to do that creates just what I'm talking
about: the potential for proliferation."

When President Bush took office, he ordered a review of Nunn-Lugar and
other Russian nuclear assistance programs. Before the review even was
complete, the White House had identified $100 million in aid that it wanted
to cut. However, after Sept. 11, the administration added about $300
million to the program, bringing its cost to more than $1 billion a year.

Sept. 11 opens eyes

"Sept. 11 came along, and all of a sudden the light dawned on [the
administration] that this was a significant counterterrorism effort," said
Rose Gottemoeller, who helped direct the Russian security work during the
Clinton years. "For that reason, they began to change their views rather
quickly."

Lugar said he recently discussed the programs with Bush and received
waivers to allow funding the clean-up at the Shchuchye chemical weapons
facility, which contains 1.9 million shells and warheads. Such waivers, he
said, are a sign that the administration's backing of Nunn-Lugar is growing.

"No doubt about it," Lugar maintained, "the administration has become very,
very strongly supportive."

********

#3
Boston Globe
December 1, 2002
New fears Chechens may seek nukes
Suspicious events concern Russians
By David Filipov, Globe Staff

MOSCOW - The day after Russian commandos stormed a Moscow theater to free
hostages held by Chechen rebels, two events thousands of miles apart
suggested that rebel factions might be plotting a far more harrowing
scenario. 

In Denmark, Akhmed Zakayev, an envoy of Chechnya's separatist leadership,
warned that rogue militants might follow the theater attack with a raid on
a Russian nuclear facility. Russia took that seriously enough to issue a
warrant for Zakayev's arrest; he is now being held in Copenhagen pending an
extradition hearing.

That same day in Tver, a Russian city 100 miles north of Moscow, security
officers arrested a captain of the guards at the Kalinin Nuclear Power
Plant. The captain, whose name was not disclosed, was caught with detailed
plans of the station and coded telephone numbers that belonged to Chechens,
according to Oleg Pribok, the local military prosecutor.

It is unclear whether the two arrests were related, and there is no direct
evidence that Chechens have planned assaults on any nuclear facilities. But
the two incidents in October drew heightened attention to a question that
has been on the minds of policy makers in Russia and abroad: What if the
rebels Russia is fighting in Chechnya try to go nuclear?

A series of suspicious incidents, unconfirmed reports, and partial
admissions by Russian officials suggest that the rebels have tried to
acquire nuclear materials. Nuclear proliferation specialists outside Russia
say that the evidence is clear that Chechens have had access to radioactive
materials in their capital, Grozny. On at least one occasion, the rebels,
or someone else, tried to wire radioactive materials with conventional
explosives in an attempt to assemble a ''dirty bomb,'' according to
Lyudmila Zaitseva of Stanford University's Institute of International
Studies, which runs a database on the theft and smuggling of radioactive
materials. 
 
And at least one former adviser to the US government says that the rebels
have acquired warheads from the nuclear arsenal the Soviets possessed.

John Colarusso, a specialist on the Caucasus region at McMaster University
in Ontario, said, ''I am reasonably certain that they have or had at least
three warheads.'' Colarusso, who advised the Clinton administration on
Chechnya, said that in November 1991, Russia's former defense minister,
Pavel Grachev, ''sold'' the Russian arsenal in Grozny to Chechnya's late
separatist president, Dzhokhar Dudayev. Among the weapons was a
nuclear-tipped, air-to-surface missile. 

Colarusso said the rebels found two more warheads in an abandoned ballistic
missile silo in the Chechen village of Bamut. The missiles in the silo had
been destroyed in the mid-1970s by a propellant fire, leaving two warheads
lying at the bottom of the shafts. The CIA reportedly sent officers to
Chechnya to inspect the weapons but never were able to confirm their
existence.

Few specialists doubt that the Chechen rebels, locked in an eight-year
conflict with Moscow that has claimed tens of thousands of lives on each
side, have the motivation to seek more powerful weapons in their struggle.
But there is debate about whether they have the desire, or the means, to
resort to nuclear terror.

A rebel Web site, Kavkaz.org, in July denounced a report in a British
newspaper, citing an anonymous US official, that Chechen rebels had stolen
weapons-grade material from a reactor in southern Russia. The rebels said
the article was an attempt to slander the Chechen people. Russian officials
also denied the report, and one security officer called it an attempt by
the CIA to discredit Russia's nuclear establishment. 

Russia's military flatly denies that Chechens have, or ever have had,
nuclear weapons. The commander of Russia's nuclear arsenal, Colonel General
Igor Valynkin, has reported two efforts by armed groups to probe the
defenses at nuclear weapons storage sites. Valynkin told reporters in
October 2001 that his troops provide impenetrable protection of the sites.

But the security of Russia's nuclear facilities has been a major concern
since the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse led to financial woes that prompted
cuts in security at state-owned facilities. That, plus widespread poverty,
might motivate workers in the nuclear sector to try to sell atomic materials. 

Yuri Vishnyevsky, the head of Russia's nuclear regulatory commission, told
reporters earlier this month that a small amount of weapons-grade nuclear
material and a larger amount of non-weapons-grade nuclear fuel had gone
missing from nuclear facilities. He said security at Russia's facilities
across the country, though improved since the terrorist attacks of Sept.
11, 2001, was still inadequate. 

The reactor-grade material could be enriched to weapons-grade through a
complicated process that some countries trying to develop nuclear weapons,
such as Iraq, may already possess. At least some Chechen rebels say
separatists could attack nuclear sites, if not use nuclear weapons.

''Terrorist acts are possible. We cannot exclude that the next such group
takes over some nuclear facility,'' Zakayev, an aide to separatist leader
Aslan Maskhadov, said Oct. 29, the day after the assault by Russian special
forces to free over 800 captives in a Moscow theater, which left 129
hostages and 41 Chechen militants dead. Zakayev added that Maskhadov did
not condone such attacks. 

But another rebel leader, Shamil Basayev, who often acts independently of
Maskhadov, has since threatened to launch ''terrorist attacks'' on all
''military, economic, and strategic facilities'' if Russia does not
withdraw its forces that have been fighting in Chechnya since 1999.

It was Basayev who demonstrated his readiness to use nuclear terrorism to
achieve political goals by burying a container of radioactive Caesium-137
in Moscow's Izmailovsky Park in 1995. Basayev alerted Russian reporters,
and police removed the device.

''Chechens already have access to the radioactive materials they would need
to set off a dirty bomb,'' said Stanford's Zaitseva. ''Even if they were
not actually going to carry out such attacks, they definitely knew what
would frighten Russians.''

It may serve Moscow's interests to exaggerate the Chechens' willingness to
play the nuclear card.

Matthew Bunn, senior research assistant at the Managing the Atom project at
Harvard University, said that one thing that complicates sorting out
reports of Chechens and nuclear material is ''the Russian government's
tendency to ascribe any and all forms of evil behavior to the Chechens.''

Bunn said some of the reports would be ''quite a concern from the
perspective of dirty bombs, but one doesn't know how many of these are true.''

Moscow media quoted sources in the Federal Security Service as saying the
murder of renowned nuclear chemist Sergei Bakhvalov in August may have been
linked to a plot by terrorists seeking to obtain nuclear expertise,
material, or equipment.

Those reports were published after an article appeared in the mainstream
Lebanese newsweekly Al-Watan Al-Arabi, describing a deal between followers
of Osama bin Laden and Chechen warlords in Grozny in which the Chechens
received $30 million in cash and two tons of opium in exchange for
approximately 20 nuclear warheads. Author Yosef Bodansky, in a book about
bin Laden, ''The Man Who Declared War on America,'' cites Russian and Arab
intelligence sources as saying that Chechen rebels facilitated the sale of
nuclear ''suitcase bombs'' in the late 1990s from former Soviet nuclear
facilities.

If that deal ever took place, no official in Russia or the United States
has confirmed it. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency says
it has no evidence that Chechens have sold radioactive material to
terrorists. 

Russian officials only publicly announce theft of nuclear materials when
they catch the thief. One elaborate scheme in 1996 allegedly involved a
Chechen rebel plan to steal a sub in the Pacific and remove a nuclear
weapon; Russian security officers foiled the bid.

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said that ''orphaned'' nuclear material,
such as atomic-powered field generators and radioactive powder, is
scattered across the former Soviet Union, including Chechnya. And the war
provided the rebels with access to radioactive sources such as Radon, a
former site for radioactive waste disposal in Grozny.

''Some of these sites have quite nasty, intensely radioactive items that
would be useful for a dirty bomb,'' Bunn said. 

The data compiled by Stanford's Zaitseva indicate that a large amount of
highly radioactive waste stored at Radon went missing after the first
military campaign in the breakaway republic of Chechnya ended in 1996.
Russian nuclear workers found much of the missing materials after federal
troops returned to Chechnya in October 1999. Some of it was buried in a
Grozny suburb where Basayev had reportedly set up a workshop for making
explosives.

But the only evidence that anyone in Chechnya intended to build dirty bombs
was discovered near a railway line outside Argun, 10 miles east of Grozny,
in 1998, when a container full of radioactive substances was found with a
mine attached to it. 

Colarusso, the former Clinton administration adviser, believes the rebels'
intention would be to employ any nuclear weapons they acquire as a
bargaining chip. 

*******

#4
Indianapolis Star
December 1, 2002
U.S. looks to Russia as vital oil supplier
Burgeoning Arctic outpost symbolizes nation's new push to tap its rich
reserves.
By Bruce Stanley
The Associated Press

VARANDEY, Russia -- Workers at the arctic oil terminal of Varandey cling to
their wind-blasted beach on the Barents Sea like castaways marooned on an
alien shore.

Even the name implies isolation. Varandey translates as "land's edge" in
the language of the indigenous people in the Nenets Autonomous Republic,
1,110 miles northeast of Moscow.
 
Yet the oil workers take pride in their contribution to Russia's burgeoning
crude production, and activity at this tiny cluster of storage tanks and
pumping stations resonates far across the Atlantic. American politicians
and oil executives envision Russia as a strategic source of petroleum that
will help reduce U.S. energy dependence on the turbulent Middle East.

Russia is eager to oblige, and Varandey is one sign of its potential to do
so. The government hopes to increase Russia's market share for oil, the
country's leading export, while cultivating closer political ties with
Washington. The budding energy partnership has created lucrative
opportunities for Russian producers. Yukos, one of Russia's biggest oil
companies, shipped 200,000 tons of crude to Houston in July, becoming the
first Russian oil company to export crude directly to the United States.

Lukoil, a Yukos rival, controls the export terminal at Varandey and also
has eyes for America.

"The U.S. is the largest market in the world. For us, it's target No. 1,"
said Leonid Fedoun, Lukoil's vice president for strategic development.

Varandey offers oceangoing oil tankers their only direct access to
petroleum pumped from beneath the tundra of northernmost Russia. An icy
wilderness in winter and a bog in summer, the Barents coast forms the
northern lip of the Timan-Pechora basin, a promising oil frontier in a
country that already ranks among the world's largest crude oil producers.

The influx of Russian oil addresses the issue of energy security for the
United States; the United States imports more than half its oil, and 25
percent of last year's shipments originated in the politically unstable
Persian Gulf. Washington also is eager to dilute the influence of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on the global supply and
price of crude.

Russia, which doesn't belong to OPEC, is home to about 10 percent of the
world's oil and gas reserves. It was the top crude producer in October,
pumping 7.91 million barrels a day, according to oil industry watchdog the
International Energy Agency.

A major constraint on exports to the United States is Russia's lack of a
port large enough to handle 250,000-ton oil tankers, which would make such
shipments more commercially attractive. Russia's creaking and inadequate
pipeline network, operated by the state monopoly Transneft, also retards
growth.

Some foreign companies argue that Russia could speed development of its oil
resources if the government did more to protect the interests of foreign
investors. British energy group BP PLC almost walked away from a $500
million investment in Russian oil company Sidanco after a rival bought a
prized oil field from Sidanco in a bankruptcy auction BP claimed was illegal.

For now, Varandey is the sole outlet for crude piped to the Barents coast,
and it only provides enough oil from two nearby fields to fill a single
20,000-ton tanker each month.

Lukoil's subsidiary VarandeyNefteGaz is developing more wells around
Varandey, and it foresees a surge in output.

Despite its limited capacity, Varandey represents a minor triumph of
logistics.

Heavy ice close to shore for much of the year forces ships to load their
oil 21/2 miles out at sea, at a buoy connected to an underwater pipe
running from the terminal itself. Ice breakers often must cut paths for the
tankers.

Supplies arrive here mainly by sea, but only from July until November when
the water is free of ice. Temperatures can plunge to 53 degrees below zero,
and workers must heat the oil to keep it flowing through offshore pipe.

Employees earn up to 10 times what they would get elsewhere in Russia. But
money isn't their only reason for toughing out each monthly stint.

"This is a new challenge -- new fields, new opportunities," said engineer
Nikolai Voitsekhovsky, who monitors operations at Varandey.

*******

#5
Man accused of Putin forgery is caught 

MOSCOW, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A fraud who forged Russian President's Vladimir
Putin's decree to set up a virtual, non-existent federal agency has been
nabbed by police and security agents, Moskovsky Komsomolets daily reported
Saturday.

Nikolai Chemodanov, 51, worked as a driver at Russia's Constitutional
Court, but in his spare time he indulged in a long list of hobbies that
included reading, foreign languages and Internet surfing.

All of these skills Chemodanov applied to make money as he embarked on one
of the most spectacular swindles of Russia's post-Soviet era that has seen
many such tricksters during the country's economic turmoil of the 1990s.

According to his own words, Chemodanov had been a regular at Moscow's Lenin
library where he spent hours and days studying legal documents, and,
particularly, Putin's signature whose electronic image he downloaded from
the Internet.

Later on, Chemodanov composed a presidential decree allegedly signed by
Putin and issued a governmental resolution bearing a forged signature of
Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Both documents also bore the replicas of
presidential and federal coat of arms. 

According to the papers, Putin and Kasyanov sanctioned the creation of a
federal agency entitled "State Directorate for Ferry and Sporting Fleet." 

Chemodanov faxed both documents to Russia's State Property Ministry
demanding from its officials to allocate office space for the agency which
he said would employ up to 15,000 people working on a 500-million ruble
($15.7 million) annual budget.

Having faxed the papers, Chemodanov started making regular phone calls in
which he pretended to be officials from various ministries inquiring about
details related to the creation of the new directorate.

To give his campaign more stature and an international boost, Chemodanov
phoned the ministry and speaking in English, introduced himself as a U.N
official who wished to "congratulate on the new directorate," Moskovsky
Komsomolets reported. 

After a certain while, ministry officials began to suspect the validity of
the papers submitted by Chemodanov and alerted police and the Federal
Security Service.

From then on, phone conversations between the mysterious would-be agency
chairman and the State Property Ministry were tapped as security officers
attempted to track down the caller.

However, he was calling from cell phones, whose numbers he kept changing,
making it impossible for the FSB and police to disclose his identity.

Chemodanov's attention failed, though, when a State Property Ministry
official told him the agency's request for office space was solved and
invited him to come pick up the papers entitling him to occupy a building
in southeast Moscow.

To make the plot even more convincing, the official apologized to
Chemodanov, regretting that his initial request for $10 million office
building in a posh neighborhood in downtown Moscow had to be rejected and
added the ministry could meanwhile only offer the building in the city's
southeast instead.

Chemodanov accepted the invitation and showed up in person at the ministry
at a scheduled time, only to be scooped up by the FSB's Economic Security
Dept officers and a Moscow police unit fighting econmic crimes.

If convicted on fraud and forgery charges, Chemodanov will face between two
to five years in prison. 

Chemodanov's swindle has been rivaled in Russia's history only once, Irina
Volk, a spokeswoman for the economic crime fighting department in the
Moscow police told reporters.

During World War II, a fraud forged papers introducing him as an army
commander seeking funding for his "army's" fight against the Nazis, Volk said.

In contrast to Chemodanov, the "army chief" succeeded and received regular
payments from the Soviet Defense Ministry. 

*******

#6
Russia could learn about agricultural production from the West - minister 
ITAR-TASS
 
Moscow, 30 November, ITAR-TASS correspondent Natalya Panshina: Russia will
sell 10m tonnes of grain worth 1bn dollars abroad this year, Russian Deputy
Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Aleksey Gordeyev said today,
speaking at a meeting of deputies and heads of municipal bodies organized
by the One Russia party.

At the same time, the agriculture minister stressed that this would only
partially relieve the pressure within the Russian agricultural sector. "It
has turned out that we are not ready for a substantial growth in
agricultural production," he explained, adding that Russia ought to take a
serious look at Western experience in the field of regulating food and
agricultural production.

Gordeyev described state interventions in the grain market as a "correct
but belated measure". He admitted, however, that, through its purchases of
grain, the state had managed to raise its price by 12 per cent.

Over the last four years, production of agricultural produce in Russia has
shown stable growth, estimated at 5.5 per cent a year. According to the
latest information, the minister said, almost 87m tonnes of grain have been
collected, while the yield has amounted to 19.6 quintal [equal to 1,960 kg]
per hectare, which is a record for the "Soviet and post-Soviet period".
Meat and milk production are also rising for the second year in a row. As a
result, the average consumption of meat and dairy products per individual
has risen more sharply than at any time in the last 10 years.

****** 

#7
BBC Monitoring
Russian Social Democrats headed by Gorbachev get ready for election 
Source: TVS, Moscow, in Russian 0800 gmt 30 Nov 02
 
[Presenter] Mikhail Gorbachev's the Social-Democratic Party of Russia
(SDPR) has started getting ready for the elections. A plenum of the party
has taken place in Moscow. It has been officially declared that SDPR
members are to adjust their political position in view of the coming
parliamentary election in 2003. About 200 people have gathered for the
plenum in the Rossiya Concert Hall. Gorbachev was the first to speak.

[Leader of Russia's Social-Democratic Party Mikhail Gorbachev, captioned]
When we are asked a question - Don't you see what is going on? - we say
that we do see it, - Don't you see all the neglecting? - We do, we say,
nevertheless the main criterion we should continue keeping to is to what
extent is being done what is done within the framework of [Russian
President Vladimir] Putin's rule [changes tack] He is the main generator of
both strategic and tactical issues, and now we are supporting the president.

This support is not unconditional but there is a tendency towards changing
the situation, there have been changes for the better and interests of the
majority [are considered].

[Presenter] The plenum participants have not given distinct answers as to
with whom Gorbachev's Social Democrats are going to be en bloc in the
coming election. They say they will not unite with anybody but do not sound
confident about it.

[Samara Region governor Konstantin Titov] Let's work as in a marathon,
individually, and then those who will want, will join our platform which
protects hired workforce and is set to develop Russia within the framework
of market economy but without market pressurizing different social layers
of society. Then we will discuss it . We have had proposals so far but I
would rather not discuss it in public.

******

#8
BBC Monitoring
Russia's Channel One launches revamped portal 
Source: Channel One TV, Moscow, in Russian 0700 gmt 30 Nov 02
 
[Presenter] A new version of our channel's information portal has been
developed. The site now lays claim to the role of one of the leading mass
media on the Internet. Igor Riskin has more.

[Correspondent] 1tv.ru - the Internet address has remained the same, but
the site's content and appearance have changed substantially. The new
information portal is now open. In creating it, the designers and editors
used the experience they had accumulated over the last few years in their
work with the World Wide Web.

The result is prompt information delivery and resources that are massive
but easy to access. In fact, the whole of Channel One's information and
analysis coverage - Novosti [regular news bulletin], Vremya [flagship
evening news programme], Odnako [short political commentary], Drugoye
Vremya [weekly analysis programme], Vremena [weekly discussion programme] -
has been accommodated here.

[Marat Gelman, deputy director-general of the Channel One open joint-stock
company] The Channel One web site now lays claim to be one of the leading
Internet mass media, and we will be competing with the leading Internet
mass media, posting advertisements - in other words, this is a professional
medium targeted at Internet users.

[Correspondent] Various points of view, expert opinions, links, archive
materials - the site is aimed at those who want to find out as much as
possible.

[Aleksandr Lyubimov, first deputy director-general of the Channel One open
joint-stock company] The format of our site is world-class - in other
words, it's at the same level as the very best products on the Internet.
There are lots of different subtleties and gimmicks there, for those who
understand and love the net. And there are lots of unexpected things which,
in general, one didn't come across very much on Russian-language sites.

[Correspondent] One of the main advantages of the Internet is the ease and
effectiveness of audience feedback. Any news can become the subject of
discussion, a discussion which can be started right there and then.

The site features forums, chat-rooms, and detailed information on Channel
One itself and all of its projects. The people who developed the site
insist that it's worth popping in.

*******

#9
China, Russia to showcase ties as Putin visits
By Brian Rhoads

BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - When Russian President Vladimir Putin and
Chinese President Jiang Zemin meet on Monday, they are likely to seek
mutual reassurances over the strength of their relations as both sides cosy
up to Washington.

The visit also aims to boost now modest bilateral trade and shore up
security in a region unsettled by North Korea's boasts about its plans to
develop nuclear weapons and threats from what both regard as Muslim
separatists at home, analysts say.

Putin arrives in China just after midnight on Sunday and is due for talks
with Jiang on Monday. He also is scheduled to meet Vice President Hu
Jintao, who took over as head of China's Communist Party this month after
Jiang retired from the post, on Monday afternoon. The Russian leader leaves
on Tuesday.

Both sides have hailed the visit. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong
Quan said last week the leaders would review a decade of relations and
"make strategic plans for the future."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko outlined an array of
issues on which China and Russia sing in tune -- from support for the
United Nations' role in ironing out global security issues, to
non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and strengthening of
strategic stability.

Moscow and Beijing's stances on issues related to the emerging world order
and to key international problems are "either close to each other or
coincide," he said on Friday.

But analysts say China will be seeking reassurances from Putin over his
pro-Western leanings in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the
United States.

And both will try to dispel the view that the Sino-Russian relationship now
plays second fiddle to their own ties to the United States.

"The reality is that each of the two countries sets greater priorities to
relations with the United States than they do to relations between each
other," said a Western diplomat in Moscow.

CONSTERNATION

China watched with alarm as Putin swiftly backed U.S. President George W.
Bush's war on terror, voiced little objection to the U.S. withdrawal from
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and edged closer to NATO, diplomats and
analysts said.

But Beijing too has cosied up to Washington. In October Jiang followed in
Putin's footsteps by becoming one of the few world leaders to enjoy a visit
to Bush's Texas ranch.

"In the past we've seen Moscow and Beijing reach a convergence of views on
things they don't like about what the U.S. is doing. That's likely to
continue despite the warming of relations with both Moscow and Beijing with
Washington," said Robert Karniol of Jane's Defence Weekly.

"I don't see that they (the Russians) have downgraded the relationship.
They have, rather, upgraded the relationship with the U.S. It's not a
zero-sum game," he said.

For its part, Beijing will seek to assure Moscow that China's rise as a
booming economic and strategic power poses no real threat, and stress the
need to increase still relatively modest trade despite their huge common
border.

"A 'China threat' in Russia I think really worries China, and we hope the
Russian government could make clear they will not regard China as a threat,
even just potentially," said Peking University international security
expert Zhu Feng.

"That's why China's trying to develop a very reliable, credible
relationship with Russia," he said.

China notched up a record $10.67 billion in trade last year with Russia,
its eighth biggest partner -- a figure both sides expect to grow this year
but still a fraction of its trade with top partners Japan and the United
States.

Both sides also will stress the need to strengthen cooperation on counter
terrorism in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which also includes
four Central Asian republics.

Putin, criticised in the West on human rights, will hear only sympathy in
China, which also says it faces a domestic threat from Muslim separatist
groups.

In an interview with the official Xinhua news agency ahead of the visit,
Putin thanked China for its solidarity over the Moscow theatre siege in
October. Nearly 130 hostages out of more than 800 died when Russian forces
stormed the theatre to end a stand-off with armed Chechen rebels.

Putin and China's leaders also were also to discuss North Korea, but
analysts doubt they can rein in their unpredictable neighbour, holding
little sway over Pyongyang despite being among its few allies.

Possible U.S. military action against Iraq, should it fail to comply with
arms inspections, will also feature. Russia and China, both permanent
members of the U.N. Security Council, stress the role of the United Nations
in approving any attack.

*******

#10
The Straits Times (Singapore)
1 December 2002
Meet President Putin's hidden dragons 
Russian leader's daughters are learning wushu and Chinese 

MOSCOW - Ahead of a visit to Beijing to meet new Chinese Party leader Hu
Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that his two daughters
are learning Chinese martial arts and one is also studying the language.

In an interview with Chinese journalists ahead of the visit starting today,
he said that in his family, there was a 'great interest' in China, its
history, literature and language.
 
'The closeness and historical ties' between both countries and the positive
development of Sino-Russian relations would increase Russians' interest in
China, the ITAR-TASS news agency quoted him as telling the journalists.

In a rare glimpse into his family life, Mr Putin said his two teenage
daughters, 17-year-old Masha and 16-year-old Katya, are both learning the
Chinese martial art wushu, and one of them is taking Chinese language lessons.

Mr Putin, himself a black belt in the Japanese martial art of judo, said he
did not practise any Chinese martial art.

His visit to China will signal that despite Moscow's backing of the United
States-led anti-terror campaign and its stepped-up cooperation with the
West, the Kremlin intends to simultaneously pursue close relations with China.

He is slated to meet President Jiang Zemin and his successor, Mr Hu, who is
expected to take over as President in March next year.

Mr Putin has sought to calm China's concerns about Russia's warming
relations with the West, saying that ties with Beijing remain a top priority.

Last week, in talks with the president of neighbouring Belarus, he
emphasised that Russia would pursue international ties based on its
national interests.

Following China, Mr Putin will head for long-time ally India on Tuesday.
The two sides are expected to sign an accord to forge closer ties. --AFP, AP 

****** 

#11
People's Daily Online
December 1, 2002
Full Text of Russian President's Interview with Xinhua
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forthcoming visit to China is of
special importance and it is necessary for Russia and China to take
concerted actions on the international arena. 

The following is the full text of his interview with Xinhua on the eve of
his visit to China scheduled from Dec. 1 to 3. 

Question: Honorable Mr. President, you will pay a visit to China soon.
Could you explain your expectation to the upcoming visit that is of special
significance? And what issues about China are you interested in? 

Answer: This a planned visit. I have decided with President Jiang Zemin to
exchange visits regularly. The visit is of special significance because it
is paid just after the conclusion of the 16th National Congress of the
Communist Party of China (CPC). The congress was a big event not only for
China but also for the world because of China's huge potential for economic
growth and increasing influence on and importance in international affairs.
It is well known that the CPC congress attracted world attention also
because of the noticeable power transfer of the high-level leadership of
the CPC. 

It is of vital importance for all partners of China how China will develop
relations with its neighboring countries and other countries in the world.
To us, this issue is particularly important as China is one of Russia's key
partners in international affairs and the two countries have many plans to
cement bilateral ties. In addition, the two sides, as neighboring
countries, have many issues that need cooperation. 

I have forged good private ties with President Jiang Zemin and I am
scheduled to hold talks again with him. One year ago, I made acquaintance
with Hu Jintao, the newly elected general secretary of the CPC Central
Committee, when he was paying a working visit to Moscow. We not only had
the chance to get acquainted with each other, but also discussed a series
of bilateral and international issues. You know, Russia and China signed
the Good-neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation last year. Frankly
speaking, the treaty was initially proposed by the Chinese president, and
wehighly appraised the proposal. We believed that undoubtedly it is a
historic event in our bilateral relations. We should coordinate our stances
to jointly realize the tasks set down in the treaty. We have many issues
concerning cooperation in energy and military as well as in the field of
economy that need to be discussed. On cooperation in the international
arena, we also have issues to be discussed. It needs to be pointed out that
the concerted actions taken by Russia and China in international affairs
are a very important factor for settling a series of important world issues. 

Q: You have just mentioned the Good-neighborly Treaty of Friendship and
Cooperation, which has laid a foundation for development of bilateral ties
in the new century. Could you tell us how China and Russia can increase
all-round cooperation in the new international situation and what is the
focus of the cooperation? 

A: China's state development plan is very impressive. The speedof China's
economic growth, especially the growth in recent years,has attracted
increasing attention to the experience of China. Therefore, we will give a
priority to cooperation in the economic field. We have many issues to
discuss in this field, such as the energy projects I have mentioned. With
the constant growth of its economy, China has witnessed a growing demand
for energy. We can discuss long-term cooperation in the energy sphere which
is in theinterest of both sides, as China's energy resources are limited
while Russia has rich energy resources. 

I have indicated the necessity of concerted actions by Russia and China on
the international arena and some issues should be puton a prominent place.
The most important aspect of their cooperation and the most important
factor of world politics is the maintenance of world stability and the
prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Hence these
are a whole set of issues that we will discuss. 

Moreover, there are problems of contemporary challenges and threats, among
which the threat of international terrorism is the most important.
International terrorism threatens most countries in the world, and Russian
and China also feel uneasy with it. Actually, before the terrorist attacks
in Washington and New York on September 11, 2001, Russia and China had made
active efforts within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO)in fighting terrorism by signing relevant documents and
warning the world of the threat which showed a trend of expansion.
Unfortunately, not all people took our advice at that time. I think our two
sides will spend enough time during the upcoming visit on discussing issues
in this regard. 

We are very concerned with the situation in the Asian-Pacific region, and
we will strengthen the agreements reached within the SCO framework. We have
set up a special mechanism for cooperation centered in Bischkek. We have
decided through consultation to exchange intelligence on a series of
sensitive issues. This will also be a focus of our concern. 

Q: What kind of role should the SCO play in fighting terrorism and
separatism? And what is the prospect of the organization? 

A: Since its establishment, the SCO has been growing constantlyand
countries in the world have shown increasing interest in it. That is not
incidental, because we concern ourselves with not onlyCentral Asia but also
neighboring areas, which could also be the target of terrorist attacks. We
all know about the tragedies occurring in the Philippines, Indonesia and
other countries in theregion. We also know about problems in China and we
cannot get ridof our uneasiness as China is also a target closely followed
by international terrorists. To effectively fight these threats, we should
unite. We should expand the scope of cooperation within theframe of the SCO. 

At its early stage, the SCO was aimed at solving border issues between
neighboring countries. But we realized later that there was greater
potential for cooperation and the scope of cooperationshould be expanded to
economy and anti-terrorism. We have reached agreements on further deepening
cooperation, expanding the cooperation to include special departments and
judicial organs within the SCO frame and on a bilateral basis. 

Q: Under your leadership, Russia successfully rescued most of the hostages
taken by terrorists in Moscow in October. Could you make a comment on the
impact of the hostage-taking crisis on Russia's domestic and foreign
policies as well as on its domestic situation? 

A: First of all, I want to express my gratitude to the Chinese people and
the Chinese leadership for their support for us in solving last month's
hostage-taking crisis in Moscow. Secondly, I have to say that the
terrorists' attempt to split the Russian society has failed, and on the
contrary, they faced a strong and accordant counterattack. And thirdly,
their attempt helped strengthen the unity of the Russian society and helped
people understand the deeply-rooted cause of the incident. The essence
ofthe incident is that international terrorism, under the false slogan of
striving for Chechen independence, attempts to achieve its global intent
which runs against the interests of the Chechen people. In fact, the
incident is part of a global terrorism network, which aims to separate
North Caucasia from Russia. Most Russian citizens, including people living
in Chechnya, have now come to realize the real purpose of the terrorists.
The work of reconstruction in the political, economic and social fields in
Chechnya has started. Social authorities and religious personages in the
Chechen republic have proposed to speed up the establishment of legal power
organs and the adopting of the constitution. The Russian government is
prepared to help Chechnya in these areas. 

I think the resumption of normal life in Chechnya has constituted a threat
to the terrorists, who have attempted to undermine the peace process. They
have failed, however, and their attempt, on the contrary, has pushed
forward a political settlement to the Chechnya issue. 

Q: You have made great efforts to solve the issue of Chechnya. How the
problem do you think can be solved completely? 

A: The only way to solve the Chechnya issue is to provide conditions for
the Chechen people to adopt their own constitution and to set up a legal
mechanism of power. The mechanism of power must have the trust of the
Chechen people, who will restore a peaceful life together with the elected
leaders. We will push forward along this road. All weapon holders and all
those refusingto live in peace life will be held responsible or annihilated. 

Q: Do you mean there is going to be a national referendum on the
constitution next year? 

A: I think it is likely. I have held discussions with representatives from
the Chechen republic and the Chechen society.I could tell from their
feelings that they planned to complete thepreparatory work within a few
months, so as to hold a national referendum on the constitution next
spring. I think the process ofpeaceful reform in Chechnya is irreversible. 

Q: In recent years, Russia maintained economic growth momentum with gross
domestic product (GDP) continuing to increase. What measures do you think
the Russian government should take to ensurethe steady economic growth,
especially in attracting investments? 

A: Of course, a stable situation is a must for attracting investments and
creating a sound investment environment. A stable political and economic
situation requires farsightedness of the power structure at various levels,
the ratification of bureaucratism in decision-making, and calls for a sound
administrative environment and a dynamic legal system. We are preparing to
head toward the direction. A package of laws has justbeen passed to
strengthen the legal system. We will continue to lift the restriction on
tax collection with the focus put on tax reduction. But it is the most
important to ensure political stability. 

Q: Russia's relations with other members of the Commonwealth ofIndependent
States (CIS) are one of the priorities of Russia's foreign policy. In the
new international situation, will there be any policy change toward them
and how do you foresee the prospect of the CIS's development. 

A: We do not agree to set a too high measure for the relations between
Russia and other CIS countries. But on the other hand, it would be harmful
to belittle the significance of our cooperation. We have all established on
the basis of the former Soviet Union and Russia has close ties with the
other CIS countries in terms ofeconomy, culture, language and history. More
than 20 million Russians are currently living in these countries and this
big figure itself provides a good explanation. It is not a small number to
us. More importantly, most citizens (of course, not 100 percent) of the CIS
countries regard Russian as their second mother tongue. The nonexistent
language barrier and interdependenteconomic ties between us all require
Russia to make it a priority to strengthen its cooperation with these
counties. In this sense, whatever external changes will not affect Russia's
foreign policy on this priority area. 

Q: Belarus and Ukraine said that they are prepared to join the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), what's your comments onthat? 

A: I have just met the president of Belarus and he did not mention to me
Belarus' entry into NATO. I believe that the currentmajor threats to the
whole world are international terrorism and nuclear proliferation. If NATO
wants to better address these threats, the military bloc should not expand
as its expansion can not cope with the major threats we face today. On the
other point,every nation has the right to decide its priority of foreign
policy. A nation has the full right to join an organization if it wants to
and we will not make any tragedy on the issue. 

Russia now is expanding cooperation with NATO by establishing ajoint
council and both sides were satisfied with the cooperation. Russia did not
rule out the possibility of further cooperation with NATO provided that the
latter gradually changed its function to cope with new tasks and new
threats and made its activities tally with Russia's interests. But it is
not worth talking about Russia's full entry into the NATO. 

Q: Another light question. You have been backed up by the Russian people
ever since you took up the presidential post. Whatdo you think are the main
factors that help you win their support? 

A: You think it is a light question? No, I think it is the most complex
one. Maybe my memory does not serve me well, but is there a Chinese saying,
which is "not to be born at chaotic times"?We have been living in turmoil
for 17 years since 1985. People do not want to see the stagnant phenomena
which are quite cruel and depressive. People yearn for stability, the real
stability with positive substance. They hope to see the light at the end of
the tunnel. They want a better life and hope their children could livea
life much better than theirs. 

You know, I never give lip-service. I just make missions possible for me
and for the government. Not all the tasks have been completed as we have
hoped, I should say, and not all the problems resolved. However, people's
income is rising in real terms, though at a low rate. At present, there are
some individualcases that wages or pension are not paid on time, but they
are notthat common compared with two years ago. The real wages of the
retired have increased and so are the wages of government employees and
soldiers. 

We hope that Russia could live in peace and have friendly relations with
not only its neighboring countries but all the countries in the world. I
think all the Russians will agree with me on the point. At the same time,
we hope that our partners couldrespect Russia's national interests. 

I think it is this working spirit that wins the favorable comments from the
Russian citizens. My colleagues and I would havemade unforgivable mistakes
if at that time we just let the opinionpoll decide what should be done and
what should not. 

In my opinion, if citizens have faith in us, it means that theyare
expecting us to accomplish something, that is the marked improvement of
their living standard and welfare. Only then shall we have the right to say
that we are competent for the tasks facing us. 

Q: I met with many officials and civilians when I went to Siberia not long
ago. I found that most of them supported your policies, which led me to see
that Russian people deeply trust you.These people also hoped for a better
life which you promised them earlier, how will you honor your commitment
for the future? 

A: You are quite right by saying we succeeded in maintaining the economic
growth. At the beginning of this year, we predicted that the growth rate
would stand at 3.5 percent. Now we have reasons to raise the rate to 4
percent, maybe even higher than that and we are very satisfied with the
result. I know Chinese leaders set 7 percent as the goal of China's yearly
economic growth rate on the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party
of China. If Russia could reach the same rate, our work, we can say, would
be a quite success. 

Q: You enjoyed respect not only of Russian people, but also of Chinese
people. Many Chinese hope to know more of you, would you tell Chinese
readers your principle of life and your hobbies. 

A: My hobbies are already well-known. I love sports games, but not the
Chinese ones. I also want to mention that my two daughtersare learning
Chinese martial art and one of them started to learn Chinese. My daughters
and I are very interested in Chinese, Chinese culture, literature and
history. As close neighbors, we two countries have a long history of
cooperation. I hope Russia can develop more interests in China as the
relations between the two nations enjoy a positive development. 

Q: Although you have numerous state affairs to handle everyday,yet you are
still full of vim and vigor. What's your recipe to be so energetic at this
midnight moment? 

A: Because I love what I am doing and get pleasure from it. 

Q: My last question is that have you ever read one of the booksabout you
since many books of this kind have been published in Russia? Which one is
your favorite? 

A: None. To be frank, I never read books about myself as I believe that I
understand myself better and more accurately than those writers. 

Q: Thank you very much. 

A: Thanks. 

After the interview, President Putin gave his dedication to Xinhua -- "Wish
Xinhua readers healthy, successful and gain achievements in all businesses.
With love, Russian President Putin." 

*******

#12
From: Peters J. Vecrumba (PetersJV@aol.com)
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 
Subject: Re: 6573-Weir/Latvia

Hello! 

Regarding #8, Fred Weir's CSM article on Latvia giving its Russians the
cold shoulder, I wanted to share my response to the CSM editor, which I
also Emailed via their web site to Mr. Weir.

--------

Regarding Christian Science Monitor's November 26th issue's article by Fred
Weir, "Latvia gives Russians cold shoulder"

While interviewing multiple parties and appearing to strive for
objectivity, Mr. Weir's article ultimately paints a shallow picture of the
Latvian-Russian landscape in Latvia.

Latvia's heritage is one of multiculturalism and tolerance. Until W.W.II,
most Latvians spoke two or more languages: Latvian, German, Russian, even
Polish--Poles came to Latvia as seasonal farm workers. There was a vibrant
merchant community in which the Jewish community was well-entrenched.
Anti-Semitism was a foreign concept: my mother (now nearing 91) tells of
the dry goods merchant making his weekly rounds through the farmland giving
away candies to the children, including her--she was one of his
"favorites"; grown up in Riga, she tells of being pulled into a store for a
hat she was "perfect for"--stories told not with stereotyping or prejudice,
but with fondness for a more innocent time.

The twin evils of Nazism and Stalinism shattered that world. As occupying
forces vied for the Baltics, Latvians chose whichever side appeared to give
them a better chance of staying alive; it was not uncommon to fight for
both sides against both sides, or to be arrested by both sides as a
collaborator for the other. Anti-Semitism took root as the Red Army used
the Jewish population as scab labor to replace Latvians arrested and
deported (as at my mother's post office). Yet she was saved when one of
those workers told my mother not to go home the day the rest of her family
was taken away to Siberia. They, too, were only trying to survive. However,
in war there is death; death breeds vengeance; to avenge, one must blame;
to blame, one must depersonalize and vilify. (What is never mentioned about
W.W.II in Latvia is that the Red Army was the first occupying power; after
a year of brutal occupation, the invading Nazis were the liberators--and,
for some, it was an opportunity to ex! act revenge in the most tragic way
against the perceived collaborators of the Russians.)

But I digress ... fifty years later, Latvia independent once again. Most of
my mother's family had survived Siberia and returned to Latvia, 15-20 years
after their deportation. My aunt had 7,000 rubles saved in her bank
account, enough to retire comfortably. Independence and currency
revaluation reduced those life savings to... 200 rubles per Lat, 60 cents
per Lat... $58.33. Instant subsistence level living off the same pension as
everyone else (55 Lats/month, or about $90, as the article mentions). But
hardly a plan to oppress the Russians. Latvia pays the same pension to its
Soviet-imposed non-citizens as to everyone else. (Incidentally, Russia
announced an increase in its pension from 450 to 600 rubles a month--from
about $14.50 to $19 even.)

And, when independence came, where did all the assets of all the collective
farms and factories go? Fields revert to forest--farming equipment sold,
money pocketed. Impoverished Russian workers live next to empty factories,
mere husks, insides stripped bare, again, by their own Russian communist
ruling class, sold, money pocketed. Less than a year after independence, a
Russian woman calls into a radio talk show mad as hell that her apartment
building isn't granting her a parking space for her second Mercedes--in
fact, she had already gone to the Russian embassy to file a formal
complaint that she was being oppressed. Russian thieves? Yes. Latvian
oppressors? No. 

And actually learning Latvian? We heard it on the radio ourselves, a
Russian woman saying she would "never learn that language not fit for a
pig." Even more telling, walking down the street in Riga, talking Latvian,
and hearing, from passerby Russians: "NEXT time we'll send them ALL to
Siberia!" Learning the Latvian language means acknowledging the loss of
preferred status. Loss of artificial privilege? Yes. Oppression? No.

Finally, for all the complaints, when the Red Army "pulled out" of Latvia,
what really happened? Thousands upon thousands retired from the military
and stayed--and claimed their state-provided apartments. (Anyone who
"legally" gained a residence during Soviet occupation got to claim
it--hardly oppressive.) As for the Soviet military, Latvia was their
favorite retirement community for decades; estimates range over 40,000
total. And why did they stay? Because in a Russia which so vehemently
"defends" its now expatriates abroad, returning Russian Latvians are
derided and called Latvians! There is no mother Russia to return to; no
warm hearth, only cold rebuke. And even worse for returning Russian
military: no barracks, no housing, no money to pay salaries. Meanwhile,
Latvia lets them keep their apartments and pays pensions to retirees.
Latvia treats the embodiment of its oppression, ex-Soviet military, better
than Russia treats its own.

It's not necessarily one's ethnicity that determines one's Latvian-ness: I
have met Russians who make wonderful Latvians; in the same vein, among my
own relatives are those who "married Russian," whose children speak no
Latvian, and who have through callous inattentiveness even disowned their
own parents: Latvians who make miserable Latvians. In a territory the size
of West Virginia, overrun by Germans, Russians, Swedes, Poles, even
French--every regional power of the last eight centuries--there is no such
thing as a "pure" Latvian. It is the love of Latvia and Latvian culture
that makes one Latvian, and it is the inherent and unique richness of the
Latvian culture that has helped it survive--along with its sibling
Lithuanian, the oldest surviving Indo-European culture, the oldest
surviving Indo-European language. (And the survival of language IS the
survival of culture. It's hypocritical to flog the Latvians for preserving
their language when American media routinely run alar! mist "exposes" of
Miami and how no one behind the counter at the local 7-11 speaks English.)

In the future, those who work to build a better Latvia for all will be the
Latvians; those who don't, whether through disdain, or yearning for--or
resentment of--past privilege, or simple apathy, will be marginalized. It's
about attitude, not ethnicity.

******

#13
BBC Monitoring
Russian TV boss defends coverage of Moscow hostage siege 
Source: Kommersant, Moscow, in Russian 27 Nov 02
 
The director-general of Russia's NTV, Boris Jordan, has strongly defended
his station's coverage of the Moscow theatre siege. Jordan told Russian
newspaper Kommersant, which had earlier reported that President Putin's
comments about TV companies which tried to "increase ratings, to make
capital, to make money" from "citizens' blood" applied specifically to NTV,
that if the president did indeed say this about NTV, he had been given
"disinformation". In particular, Jordan denied NTV had shown shots of
special forces just as they were about to storm the Moscow theatre where
the hostages were being held, and pointed out that the station had removed
commercial breaks from its programming for the duration of the siege.
However, on the sensitive issue of whether he had been asked by the Kremlin
to dismiss two of his leading employees, Leonid Parfenov and Savik Shuster,
Jordan stonewalled with a terse "no comment". The following is the text of
the report published by Kommersant on 27 November. Subheadings have been
added editorially:

As Kommersant reported yesterday, President Vladimir Putin, while meeting
with the chiefs of the mass news media on Monday [25 November], harshly
criticized the work of "some TV channels" during the days of the terrorist
attack in the theatre centre at Dubrovka. The president didn't identify any
TV channel, but it was obvious that he meant NTV and, in particular, its
director-general, Boris Jordan. The NTV chief assessed the situation in an
interview with Kommersant commentator Arina Borodina.

"We did not show the storming live"

[Correspondent] How did you react to the president's harsh statements about
the "deliberate disregard of agreements with the Press Ministry and special
services" during coverage of the events at Dubrovka? He didn't identify the
TV company, but it was obvious to everyone that he was referring to NTV.

[Jordan] We probably reacted to it the same way everyone did. I personally
and the NTV channel support the president's decision to veto the amendments
to the law on the mass news media, and I have aired my opinion on this law
several times. It was formulated too vaguely, it contained a lot of fuzzy
points. So I welcome the president's decision to send this law back to the
Federal Assembly for consideration. Regarding other parts of his speech, we
support his position, but when we read that Kommersant believes that these
statements were aimed at NTV, we felt we needed to respond specifically to
Kommersant, because your newspaper is the only one that wrote that the
president's speech pertained to NTV.

Now, with regard to the president's view that on live television "the
movements of special services were shown several minutes before the
storming, we can't agree that we showed such movements before the storming
started. We agree with the president's position that showing such movements
before the storming starts is impermissible, because this would threaten
people's lives. But NTV doesn't do this and didn't do this. We didn't show
the storming on live TV at all. We showed what was happening around the
theatre building after the storming ended. That tape, was recorded earlier.

[Correspondent] According to my information, you did start to show the
storming live, but after a call from the Press Ministry the report was halted.

[Jordan] Our correspondent was a kilometre from the theatre, in the same
area where all the other journalists were. He was simply commenting on the
situation and describing what was happening. This report occurred, but we
didn't show any pictures of what was happening around the theatre, and
certainly not the movements of special services.

[Correspondent] Did you turn over the cassette of this report after the
hostages were freed to the headquarters or to the Press Ministry?

[Jordan] We turned the cassette over to the Press Ministry.

[Correspondent] Did you deliberately mislead the president?

[Jordan] You should probably direct that question to the presidential
administration. But I will repeat once again: I haven't heard the president
say that his criticisms were directed at NTV. I am only commenting on what
was written in Kommersant.

"Not from citizens' blood"

[Correspondent] What about the president's reaction that the network used
the tragedy "to increase ratings, to make capital, to make money". And Mr
Putin added here, "But not from citizens' blood, for heaven's sake!"?

[Jordan] I agree with the president's position that people's lives must not
be used to increase a channel's ratings and make money. But I want to say
that we didn't make money from this. From the very first minutes after the
hostages were taken, NTV was one of the first to drop advertising. There
wasn't any on the day the hostages were freed, either. No one was even
thinking about ratings, and that would have been wrong. This didn't happen
and couldn't have happened at NTV.

[Correspondent] Nevertheless, the logo "NTV Exclusive" was on your
television picture during those days - you were emphasizing that you were
the only ones with these pictures. After all, this attracted viewers and
therefore benefited the channel and, accordingly, its ratings.

[Jordan] We did put up a kind of label on our exclusive product, just as
the Federal Security Service [FSB] logo was on the tape disseminated by the
FSB of Russia. This is an internationally recognized standard procedure -
to point out your exclusive. That is how CNN and other international
channels operate. Besides, foreign TV networks were also showing NTV's
picture, and we had to put our label on it.

[Correspondent] Did you expect at all that the subject of NTV would come up
- and in the context of such a harsh comments by the president - at that
meeting, where you were, by the way, not invited?

[Jordan] I didn't know about the meeting, so it was hard for me to
conjecture what would be discussed there.

[Correspondent] But what happened between the hostage release and
yesterday's statement by the president? I was told that you met Press
Minister Mikhail Lesin, you were summoned to the Kremlin, officials showed
their displeasure with NTV's work, and they asked you to reprimand Leonid
Parfenov and fire Savik Shuster.

[Jordan] I worked with the authorities quite closely during those four
tragic days and afterwards. I was in the Kremlin a few times, and I
attended a conference at [the head of the Russian presidential
administration, Aleksandr] Voloshin's office, which was also attended by
other media heads - we were figuring out how to proceed. I was in regular
contact with the press minister, and we coordinated our work with him.
After all, NTV coordinated its work with headquarters, and we transmitted
to them the picture our cameramen were shooting inside the theatre. I met
the press minister after those events, too.

"No comment"

[Correspondent] So were you asked to fire Messrs Parfenov and Shuster?

[Jordan] I have no comment on this subject.

[Correspondent] You don't want to comment so as not to cause more
displeasure in the Kremlin?

[Jordan] I just don't want to comment on it.

[Correspondent] According to our information, another reason for the
president's reaction was an article in the Washington Post, citing your
staffers, reporting that you described the meetings with members of the
presidential administration and that you said you had been asked to fire
some of your employees. The president reportedly read the article.

[Jordan] The only conversation I had with a correspondent for that
newspaper had to do with the law on the media. I was in New York, and I got
a phone call at 0800 in my hotel from the Washington Post - I don't even
know how they found me. NTV historically has had a tense relationship with
that paper. The article contains my quote about the media law, but I had no
contact with them about anything else.

[Correspondent] What did you think of the president's allusion to your
American citizenship?

[Jordan] I can only comment on what was written in your paper. In this
regard I can't imagine that in any tragic situation someone would focus
attention on someone's citizenship. During tragedies, whether it is the
terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September or the hostage taking in
Moscow, people of all nationalities are equal.

[Correspondent] What consequences do you expect? You are a hired manager -
Gazprom's contract with you is for three years. Do you expect that it might
be cancelled or revised?

[Jordan] The shareholders could adopt such a decision. I repeat, if, as
Kommersant wrote, it was directed at me and at NTV, we have answers to all
these questions.

[Correspondent] Will you try somehow to clear the air with the president?

[Jordan] I support the president in what he said yesterday. But if he said
it about us, I believe he was given disinformation. We are ready to present
him and everyone who is interested in these facts with the evidence of how
we worked during those tragic days.

[Correspondent] Do you expect negative consequences very shortly for you
personally and for NTV?

[Jordan] I continue to follow the same routine that I did before. Today I
had several meetings, I attended the preparation of the board of directors'
meeting and I attended the industrial committee's meeting. I haven't
changed my schedule because of that statement. Of course, there were
mistakes in the channel's work during those tragic days - we consider the
"Freedom of Expression" report with Savik Shuster on Friday [25 October] to
be a mistake. We learned lessons from that mistake, and as general director
I am taking appropriate measures.

******* 

#14
Los Angeles Times
Decembe 1, 2002
Trying to Recapture Russian Emigres' Life in Mexico
The few descendants of a religious sect that fled czar's empire 100 years
ago now put faith in trading on heritage to keep their ancestry alive.
By Jessica Garrison, Times Staff Writer

FRANCISCO ZARCO -- FRANCISCO ZARCO, Baja California -- After he retired
from the mattress factory in Vernon, after his children grew up and
attained happy American lives, Gabriel Kachirisky moved back to Mexico and
turned his life into a museum exhibit.

He began sticking little labels on half the possessions in his house. He
went back to the dilapidated church that his parents helped build,
restoring it. He even went to the cemetery, pulling weeds from the
forgotten headstones, lettered in Cyrillic.
  
Living among ghosts gives Kachirisky a strange peace.

The only thing that haunts the 70-year-old is a question that does not have
an answer: "When I die, who is going to take care of all this?"

A century ago, hundreds of Kachirisky's forebears -- members of an obscure
Russian Christian sect called the Molokans -- fled from the outer reaches
of the czar's empire to the lush Guadalupe Valley 50 miles south of
Tijuana. They built a bustling village under the hot Ensenada sun.

Wearing the garb of the old country, they grew alfalfa and grapes, cooked
el borscht and los blintzes, and sweated together in saunas behind their
houses every Saturday night. On Sundays, they sang psalms and drank tea
brewed in samovars brought from Russia.

But years ago, squatters came and took their land. Now, villagers say,
fewer than 20 remain who claim "pure Russian blood."

Kachirisky and a handful of others have taken it upon themselves to keep
alive memories of that way of life and a past that has all but slipped away.

The Molokans have gone into the heritage business. They greet the tourist
buses that come over the bumpy road from Ensenada. They nurture and
scrupulously maintain two museums, right across an unpaved road from each
other. And they operate many mom-and-pop enterprises, including one run by
Kachirisky.

For Kachirisky and others, it is something. But it's small solace, given
the loss of the idyllic community of their memories. And the museums have
not always smoothed the path into the future -- sometimes inflaming local
debate over who owns the past, who has a right to claim it and make money
off it from tourists.

So Kachirisky pursues his historical restorations in this small town and
continues to lecture visitors and tourists, not talking much to his fellow
Russian septuagenarians. Even though they are likely the only ones who can
really understand.

"The pain of what happened affected us, all of us," he said. "It makes us
so sad."

The Molokans split off from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 18th
century. Their Bible-centered religion emphasizes pacifism, and they
rejected mandatory service in the czar's army. In 1840, many Molokans
agreed to go to the Kars region of what is now Turkey to avoid military
service.

But by 1904, with those agreements set to expire, the Molokans began to
emigrate. Many went to Los Angeles, some to Australia, and more than 100
families to the Guadalupe Valley -- settling on 13,000 acres they bought
communally, according to Therese Muranaka, a San Diego anthropologist who
wrote her dissertation on the community.

In carefully preserved photographs and home movies, the early decades of
life at the colony have the appearance of a sun-drenched utopia.

The new settlers consecrated a church. Every Sunday, they came to worship
in the simple wood room of plain white boards and softly filtered light.

They stayed for hours, drinking tea and eating borscht. The men wore
high-neck shirts and the women covered their heads with scarves, just like
their ancestors. And though they learned Spanish, they spoke Russian to
each other.

Marriage to Mexicans

Weddings brought Molokans down from Los Angeles for song-filled feasts that
would last for three days. At first, marriage to Mexicans was frowned upon,
but by the 1940s, it had become common.

Kachirisky's wife of 47 years, Martha Lidia, is Mexican. She remembers how
her mother-in-law taught her to make los blintzes and el borscht, which the
Molokans make without beets. Today, the results of those unions are
everywhere. More than 300 locals claim some Russian heritage.

The farms prospered as well. Neat rows of alfalfa and grapevines marched up
and down the lushly rolling valley.

Many families built saunas behind their houses, where men would gather to
purify themselves each Saturday night before Sunday's visit to church.

The idyll ended in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Hundreds of landless
Mexican settlers streamed into town. They stormed up to the farms and
announced they were taking over, saying the Molokans weren't real Mexicans.

"They put on hats like Pancho Villa and carried signs that said, 'Death to
the Russians,' " said Augustin Lopez, who is part Russian.

The Molokans pleaded with them. They showed a signed proclamation from
Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, granting their rights to the land.

"They didn't consider you a Mexican citizen," said George Mohoff, who was
born and raised in the Guadalupe Valley, but now lives in Los Angeles
County. "They said, 'Why do you have so much and we have so little?' "

But the Molokans were pacifists, unwilling to use guns and fists to hold on
to their land. The settlers kept coming, and the Molokans "were left with
broken hearts," Mohoff said.

By the early 1960s, the minister -- and formal Sunday church services --
had disappeared.

Kachirisky was born here in the Guadalupe Valley. But he and his wife
became part of the exodus, moving in the early 1960s to Pico Rivera in the
Los Angeles suburbs. He stayed there 27 years.

The little English he learned in America still comes out in a gruff voice
heavily accented with Russian. But his Spanish has no accent at all, and
Kachirisky and his wife transformed themselves into Angelenos, like any
other immigrants from Mexico.

He and his wife joined a Pentecostal church, put their kids in school and
went to baseball games. They went back to the Guadalupe Valley only for
visits.

But by the late 1980s, a change in management had left Kachirisky unhappy
at the mattress factory where he worked. He cashed in the equity in his
home and returned to the Guadalupe Valley. About the same time, a
burgeoning eco-tourist trade brought visitors and museum money to the valley.

For a while, it looked like this would bring the community back together --
although many had stopped practicing the religion.

The Russians collaborated to put together the first museum in 1991. They
rummaged in closets and storage spaces, and came up with a vast collection
of dresses, photographs and samovars. They helped reconstruct a town map,
showing where everyone had lived. Children even began learning Russian.

But in 1998, a dispute over how the museum was being run led its director
-- a Mexican married into a Russian family -- to quit and establish a
competing museum. It is directly across the road from the first.

Though their exhibits are substantially the same -- photos, maps, bright
Russian dresses and samovars -- many townspeople insist there are serious
differences between them. But those tend to have more to do with who put
the museums together and how they profit.

Michael Wilken, an anthropologist who leads tours through the valley, said
he believes the dispute stems from differing perceptions of who has a right
to claim the treasured past.

"Whenever I hear the argument, it seems to be that 'So and so is making all
kinds of money off this,' and 'They're not really into it for the right
reasons,' " said Wilken, who said he has not taken sides in the fight.

Catering to Tourists

"People can have conflicts," said Julie Bendimez, director of the National
Institute of Anthropology and History in Baja California. Her institution
helped found the first museum and continues to fund it.

"I don't want to continue the war between them," she said, "but that's how
it has evolved."

Bendimez said she thinks the two museums "complement each other."

With the museums came busloads of tourists and students -- up to 10,000 a
year.

Soon, individual townspeople began catering to the tourist trade. Maria
Samaduroff got a tourist certificate and, with her daughter, serves
schoolchildren cheese and lectures in her backyard.

And then there is Kachirisky, who has turned himself into the town's
one-man curator. It started with displaying his possessions and serving
tourists blintzes.

Then, he turned his attention to the church, built in 1950. The roof had
collapsed, and rainwater had poured down the walls and the floors. Somehow,
the Bibles were spared the mildew and rot, but almost everything else was
damaged.

Kachirisky spent thousands of dollars and hours of labor, painstakingly
putting the church back the way it was.

Dozens of teapots and hundreds of teacups sit on a musty shelf, unused
since 1960. Alongside, sugar cubes rest patiently in their pink box, as
they have for four decades.

"Before, when you went on Sunday, it was so happy," he said. "So much life
... the boys and girls singing. Now when I come here, I just want to cry."

In his house, Kachirisky flips on his television and pops in a home movie
of a wedding held in 1939. The sound of dozens of voices singing the psalms
in Russian fills his little room.

His wife gazes at him fondly as he begins to sway back and forth, singing
softly to himself in Russian. He points out faces of those who still live
in town, people he doesn't speak to much these days.

When the movie ends, he reaches over to the VCR and hits play a second
time, his stiff 70-year-old body swaying back and forth, his voice lifting
again with the voices of the past. 

******

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