Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Mon, 10 Nov 1997 15:15:28 -0800 (PST)
CCSI presents excerpts from the Agency for Social Information (ASI) e-mail
information bulletin. Translated from Russian by CCSI volunteer 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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ASI Bulletin No. 42
October 17 - 23, 1997
I. Russian Women's Organizations Draw Attention to Growing
Problem of Domestic Violence
II. UNICEF Presents Report on Children in Central and Eastern Europe
III. Human Rights Activists Under Attack in St. Petersburg
IV. Citizens in Archangelsk Oblast Obtain the Right to Choose
Elements of Local Government
Russian Women's Organizations Draw Attention to the
Growing Problem of Domestic Violence
Between thirty and forty percent of all murders in Russia are committed
within the family. The majority of victims are women and children. Each
year two thousand children in the Russian Federation commit suicide;
50,000 run away from home and more than 14,000 women die at the hand of
their husbands or boyfriends. This data was presented at a round table
discussion held in Moscow on October 17 entitled, "Violence in the Family
- Violence in Society." The round table was organized by the Consortium
of Women's NGOs and the "Anna" Crisis Center for Women.
According to participants at the round table discussion, some of the most
active work being done towards halting domestic violence is being done by
regional crisis centers and public shelters. Representatives from
government agencies are convinced that the rise of domestic violence in
the Russian Federation can be attributed to a rise in alcoholism and the
deterioration of living conditions; but those at the round table refuted
this conclusion, stating that domestic violence occurs even in high-income
families.
"There is a growing impression that local government structures, in contrast with federal agencies, are
already cooperating with civic organizations to alleviate domestic violence: they publicize the activities of
the civic groups, develop joint projects with them, and offer them free office space," stated Elena Yershova,
president of the Consortium of Women's NGOs. "Examples of such cooperative efforts between local
government and the public can be found in the city of Langepas (in Tyumen Oblast), in Novgorod, and
Ekaterinburg. Nizhnii Novgorod also serves as a positive example - there, a model project has already
begun in the hopes of creating local legislation to help prevent domestic violence."
As a result of "Violence in the Family - Violence in Society,"
participants at the discussion prepared an open letter to the Russian
media, asking for help in directing societal and governmental attention to
the problem of domestic violence and for support of civic initiatives
directed towards this problem.
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UNICEF Presents Report on Children in Central and Eastern Europe
The presentation of a UNICEF report entitled, "Children at Risk in Central
and Eastern Europe: Hopes and Fears" took place on October 17 in Moscow.
The vice-premier of the Russian Federation, O. Sysuev, and First Lady
Naina Yeltsin both attended the presentation, along with Ezio Murzi, a
representative of UNICEF. The publication was the fourth in a series of
investigative reports prepared by the International Center of Child
Development for a UNICEF-sponsored project. Eighteen countries took part
in the project, including Russia Federation.
The report noted the continuing fall of income levels, the unrestrained
growth of unemployment and the elimination of financial assistance for
families in most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union. The effects of the declining birthrate and growing
incidence of divorce and single-parent families are also analysed in the
report, along with the impact of these factors on the social welfare
sector. Additionally, the report contains data on the conditions of
children during war and intense migration and the deprivations and burdens
experienced by children as a result of such events.
Included in the report's list of negative factors impacting families in
Central and Eastern Europe were poor nutrition, alcoholism, smoking,
stress, and the growth of violence in society. Also cited as a problem
was the unprecedented rise (particularly in the countries of the former
Soviet Union) in the death rate of working-age men. Hundreds of thousands
of children have lived through the untimely death of both parents, who
have died at the very time when they should be raising their offspring.
According to data from the UNICEF report, the number of children in
Central and Eastern Europe who lost a parent during the period of
1990-1995 grew to over 700,000. Three-fourths of these children live in
the Russian Federation.
Similarly, the report cites the burdens of the transition period as
contributing to the destruction of families and to the erosion of parental
responsibilties. As the divorce rate grows, so does the percentage of
fathers refusing to contribute to the support of their children.
Consequently, parents are a risk factor for children. Also, data in the
report indicates that the rate of illness for children is on the rise,
especially for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and diptheria.
In the opinion of UNICEF specialists, the elimination of these risk
factors for children may turn out to be a more difficult task than it
appeared to be at the end of the 1980s. Therefore, in every region of
Central and Eastern Europe an urgent need exists for a new infrastructure
to support families and children, a flexible system focused on parents and
children at the local level, involving not just government agencies, but
also the private and non-profit sectors.
Ezio Murzi, the UNICEF representative who presented the report, expressed
the hope that cooperation between UNICEF, the Russian Federation
government and Russian NGOs would prove fruitful for all.
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Human Rights Activists Under Attack in St. Petersburg
A hearing date has been set for December 5 for Aleksei Oding, a member of
the human rights group "Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg" who has been
accused of malicious behavior.
The story began on April 29 of this year, when members of "Soldiers'
Mothers," including Oding, Irina Poryvko and Sergei Klebatskii, attempted
to enter the offices of the St. Petersburg city draft commission, where a
hearing was in session on the topic of Klebatskii's draft deferment. The
group had passed the security checkpoint at the draft commission offices
when they were spotted by Officer Gusev (of the St. Petersburg military
committee), who demanded that Oding quit the premises. According to
Oding, he refused the order on the basis that he had been given permission
to enter by the military committee. Officer Gusev then called on some
soldiers who began to beat up Oding. The fight continued outside the
offices on the street, where Oding, who by that point had lost his
glasses, managed to take out a can of tear gas and spray his attackers,
which, incidentally, had no effect. The soldiers quit beating Oding only
after passersby began to gather, attracted by the screams of Ms. Poryvko.
After the incident, the city military committee accused Oding of malicious
behavior.
Oding's lawyer, Andrei Erikhin, has characterized the official inquiry
into the events as unobjective and disorganized. Furthermore, Oding has
no doubts that persons in the military committee were sources for an
article about the events written by Tatiana Fedorova in the "Evening
Petersburg" newspaper. Oding and other members of the "Soldiers' Mothers"
group consider the article to be slanderous, and since the editorial board
of the paper has refused to print their version of the events, they are
preparing to sue "Evening Petersburg." Contact Telephone: (812) 259-4968
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Citizens in Archangelsk Oblast Obtain the Right to
Choose Elements of Local Government
Recently a citizen's initiative in Archangelsk was given legal
recognition: the head of the oblast's administration signed a bill
allowing citizens to gather and discuss general government issues (on both
the federal and local level) and also to pass resolutions regarding
decisions made by the local government. To participate in the "town
meetings" one must be 18 years of age and a legal resident of the oblast.
Archangelsk citizens will be able use the meetings to elect members of the
local administration, to hear reports of local government activities from
deputies and administrators, and to discuss projects and proposed
legislation created by local government organs. At the meetings, citizens
will have the opportunity to meet with deputies, administrators and other
members of the local government and question them about government
activities and issues. The officials will be obliged to give answers to
these questions within a month.
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| CCSI presents excerpts from the ASI Bulletin. The |
| ASI Bulletin is a publication of the Agency for Social |
| Information (ASI) in Moscow. Originally published in |
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