Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Fri, 5 Sep 1997 17:39:21 -0700 (PDT)
Excerpts from ASI bulletin # 33, (15-21 August, 1997)...
CCSI presents excerpts from the Agency for Social Information
(ASI) e-mail information bulletin. Translated from the
Russian for CCSI by Alyssa Deutschler. For more information
on how to receive ASI's bulletin regularly, contact:
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AGENTSTVO SOTSIALNOI INFORMATSII
Kutuzovskyi pr. 22 pod. 14a,
Moscow, 121151
Tel./fax: (095) 249-3989
E-mail: [email protected]
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In this issue:
Distribution of "Murder of an Empire" is Halted in Yoshkar-Ola
Moscow Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous Celebrates its 10th
Anniversary
Regional Program for the Protection of Consumer's Rights is
Established in Kaluga
Petersburg NGOs Take an Active Role in the Upcoming Local
Elections
Project for the Integration of the Disabled into Society Begins in
Novgorod
"Lawlessness and Arbitrary Rule Continue to Reign in the Russian
Army," says Nizhnii Novgorod Society for Human Rights
Greenpeace States that Dzerzhinsk Should be Declared a Biohazard
Zone
Environmental Activists & the Russian Media Join Forces
* * * * * * *
Distribution of "Murder of an Empire" is Halted
in Yoshkar-Ola
On the 20th of August a press conference was held at the National
Press Institute to announce that 5000 copies of the book "Murder
of an Empire" by Aidar Khalim had been seized in Yoshkar-Ola
(Republic of Mari-El). Khalim is a Tatar author and poet who has
published more than 20 books, several of which have garnered
international acclaim. Like the majority of his previous works,
"Murder of an Empire" wasn't printed in Tatarstan, but rather in
Mari-El, at a publishing house in the city of Yoshkar-Ola.
However, in July of this year Khalim was informed that the entire
printing of "Murder of an Empire" had been seized under an order
from Mari-El procurator H.M. Piksaev. The book was said to have
proclaimed the superiority of the Tatar people over Russians,
which if true, would violate Russian Federation law (ST 109 and
282 which outlaws the use of propaganda touting the supremacy of
one nationality over another). Khalim and his supporters at the
press conference vehemently denied that the book contained
defamatory sentiments towards Russians; rather, they claimed the
book was a serious analysis of the difficult relationship between
Russians and ethnic minorities in national politics. Many at the
press conference worried that the issue at hand wasn't just the
seizure of "Murder of an Empire" itself, but the precedent towards
censorship and repression of freedom of expression that it was
establishing.
* * * * * * *
Moscow Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous
Celebrates its 10th Anniversary
Nearly 1000 Russian members of Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as
guests from foreign chapters of AA, gathered on August 16th in
Moscow to celebrate the organization's 10th anniversary. Ovations
greeted program "veterans"--those who have abstained from alcohol
for more than 15 years. Speakers at the anniversary celebration
told stories of their discovery of the AA program--how their lives
had been ruined by alcohol, how AA had given them the courage to
admit that their drinking was a sickness and that they were
addicted to alcohol. Because the organization protects its
members anonymity, it is difficult to say how many people
currently are involved in AA in Russia. Participants pay no fees
or dues to attend meetings; the only program requirement is a
desire to quit drinking and embrace a healthier lifestyle.
Contact telephone (main office of Moscow Alcoholics Anonymous):
(095) 474-0066
* * * * * * *
Regional Program for the Protection of Consumer's Rights
is Established in Kaluga
A regional program for the protection of consumer's rights,
originally proposed by the Kaluga Chamber of Commerce and the
Department of Economics and Industry, has been approved by the
Kaluga oblast government. Similar programs are already operating
in 34 regions of Russia. The programs aim to educate consumers,
create better conditions for the legal protection of their rights,
and establish legal standards for quality of products and
services. The Kaluga program is slated to operate from 1997
until 2001.
* * * * * * *
Petersburg NGOs Take an Active Role
in the Upcoming Local Elections
On September 28th local government elections will be held in St.
Petersburg. The nomination of candidates has already begun, as
has the formation of blocs between political parties and non-
governmental groups. For instance, Rostislav Evdokimov, director
of the St. Petersburg Society of Russian Collectivists and member
of the International Society for Human Rights, has allied himself
with the Yabloko party. The St. Petersburg office of the League
of Women Voters is aiding all female candidates in distributing
their pre-election materials, and has invited the candidates to
submit their campaign information for publication in the League's
newspaper. The League's actions illustrate one of the more
complex issues in local elections--the inability of local media to
provide adequate campaign coverage for all candidates.
* * * * * * *
Project for the Integration of the Disabled into Society
Begins in Novgorod
A pilot program aimed at creating conditions to help the disabled
become more integrated into society has begun in Novgorod. The
project is a joint effort between both Russian and American
advocacy groups for the disabled. The primary goal of the project
is to create a better environment for disabled citizens in
Novgorod and to expand the employment and educational
opportunities available to them. Project organizers first plan to
tackle societal attitudes and prejudices towards the disabled,
with a special emphasis on the young. Organizers hope to get
disabled youth involved in outreach programs in schools that will
help educate kids about the disabled. Stanislav Ageev, project
member and director of the local chapter of the Russian Society of
Invalids, admits that the project can't change society's opinion
of the disabled overnight, but hopefully it can "help lay the
foundations for future efforts."
Contact telephone (Moscow): (095) 231-9768, Valentin Krylov
* * * * * * *
"Lawlessness and Arbitrary Rule Continue to Reign
in Russian Army,"
says Nizhnii Novgorod Society for Human Rights
On the 20th of August the Nizhnii Novgorod Society for Human
Rights informed the media that the mothers of two soldiers, S.V.
Pribytkov and A.V. Falomeev, had approached the society for help.
The mothers stated that their sons had been repeatedly subjected
to beatings and insults in their military unit. On July 7, 1997,
after being assaulted, the boys abandoned their unit. Two days
later they were admitted to a local hospital and diagnosed with
concussions. Doctors there also diagnosed Falomeev with a broken
jaw. The two boys appeared on August 18th at regional military
court and were arrested. Thus far, the boys' military unit has
denied that any sort of wrongdoing in the case. Having evaluated
the case, the Nizhnii Novgorod Society for Human Rights commented
that this is another example of how civil rights are continuing to
be violated in the Russian army and that victims are being
punished rather than the guilty.
Contact telephone: (8312) 30-0714, or 30-3998 (Viktor Gurskii,
secretary for the Nizhnii Novgorod Society for Human Rights)
* * * * * * *
Greenpeace States that Dzerzhinsk Should be Declared
a Biohazard Zone
Activists from Greenpeace staged a protest in Dzerzhinsk (in
Nizhegorod Oblast) by bringing the corpses of dead birds found in
the holding tanks of a local factory to the city's administrative
offices. Greenpeace claims that the birds were killed by the high
concentrations of phenol found at the "Orgsteklo" factory. Tests
on the birds, and on water gathered from a canal that receives
waste from the factory, revealed phenol levels that were 17
million times higher than the legal limit. For many months now
Greenpeace has been wrangling with city authorities, who are
reluctant to petition Moscow and to have the city declared an
environmentally hazardous area. Many experts believe that
conditions in the city should have been considered hazardous a
long time ago.
* * * * * * *
Environmental Activists & the Russian Media Join Forces
Russian environmental organizations are teaming up with media
professionals to put on a conference, September 6-8, in St.
Petersburg. Sponsors include the environmental information agency
TEIA, ecological NGOs Zelionyi Mir and Chudskoi Project, the
National Press Institute, and the Center for the Development of
Non-Commercial Organizations. The focus of the conference will be
on how media groups and NGOs can collaborate on establishing a
regional environmental information network in northwest Russia.
Such a network would aid non-governmental groups in publicizing
their activities and disseminating information that impacts the
environment of the region. Further information on the project and
on the conference is available from TEIA.
E-Mail: [email protected]
WWW: http://www/teia/ru
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| CCSI presents excerpts from the ASI Bulletin. The |
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