Dear RN list, Dec. 16 Because those of us who have access to e-mail are, for the most part, quite insulated from real poverty, it is easy to forget how fragile the system is which we rely on. The posting below tells of how people are faring in Kamchatka, with severely diminished inputs of food and fossile fuels from Russia. My next posting to you will be an article by Richard Douthwaite, an economist in Ireland, who compares our current reliance on the easiest technologies and systems (systems which make up globalization) to the reliance of the Irish people on the easiest food staple: potatoes. ... We all know what happened when the potatoe famine hit. all the best, Jan ************************************************************* Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 01:25:11 -0800 From: "Wendell W. Solomons" <•••@••.•••> Subject: SOS call From: "Alexander Samoiloff" <•••@••.•••> Subject: Hello Russia #15 Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 00:28:12 +1000 ************************************************ HELLO RUSSIA "PRIVET ROSSIYA" FREE RUSSIAN WEEKLY NEWSLETTER # 15 December 07 1998 ========================================== Regional political and economic events, business, culture, crime, way of life and another issues, coming to you from Khabarovsk, Russia's Pacific Rim. ========================================== - To subscribe send mail to: hello •••@••.••• with "Subscribe" in subject line. -URL http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/HelloRussia/index. html Tanya •••@••.••• ========================================== Brought to you by TANYA & ALEXANDER SAMOILOFF "TOLMACH" - Business Consulting & Attorney. Translators & Interpreters http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Tolmach/index.html •••@••.••• ========================================== In this issue: I. KAMCHATKA'S "SOS" CRY - ON THE VERGE OF A "BOSTON TEA PARTY"? II. THE FAR EAST - A SPECIAL RUSSIAN REGION III. WAR AGAINST BOOTLEGERS III. SANTA BARBARA - RUSSIAN WAY IV. RE: " SIBERIAN STATES OF AMERICA" =================================== I. KAMCHATKA'S "SOS" CRY - ON THE VERGE OF A "BOSTON TEA PARTY"? (From Alexander Samoiloff) This week Khabarovsk local TV broadcasts reported about the disastrous situation in Kamchatka Peninsula. The cities and towns of that Northern Far Eastern territory have no fuel, heat and electricity. At an outside average temperature of -20C they are getting frozen. People are cooking food at bonfires in the street. TV shows children wrapped in warm clothes and blankets in frozen homes. Their mothers say that they are not sure if they can survive until Christmas. People cannot leave Kamchatka because they have no money. Elderly people, who don't receive their pensions and can not buy wood to heat their apartments talk about Moscow's genocide. "They want to kill us and save money for their budget - said an old starving looking woman - but why do they want to kill our children? " The frustrated Governor of Kamchtaskaya Region reports that every day for few months he appeals to Moscow for emergency help and receives only promises. The local government has no funds to buy fuel or evacuate people to the Mainland. Now the Governor appeals to the world community for emergency help to save lives of more that 660 thousand of Kamchatka's residents as they can not tide over for long. The Moscow-promised small shipment of fuel oil will not save the situation. Most Russians cities have a centralized electric power and heating system. It means that all residential and other facilities are heated with hot water running through pipes from one or two big heating plants. So, damage to the pipes due to freezing over at low temperature means physical destruction of the whole heating system. At the same time Russian Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov reports that the government has no funds to help Kamchatka. Are we at the verge of a "Boston Tea Party" in Moscow's Far East colonies? Chukotka reports that their fuel stocks will end during the next two weeks. The President of the Republic Saha (Yakutia) has ordered this week to evacuate people from northern remote areas to Yakutsk. The Governor of Primorsky Krai Evgeny Nazdratenko reported on TV that they may have an electricity and heat shortage only in some small towns and there's no reason for Vladivostok residents to panic. At the same time Moscow reports about disastrous situation in Prymorsky Krai. Last month I've often heard from people, including local government officers and domestic and foreign businessmen, the opinion that Moscow already has rejected the Far Eastern territories and now only wants to take as much as possible from them while they stay with Russia. A Japanese high- ranking businessmen, who visited Khabarovsk during the last week offering to the local government a USD 40,0 million long term loan told me, "We think that Russia de-facto already has lost the Far East." In this case I trust his opinion, because before offering the loan Japanese had done a careful investigation. ------------ Dear Friends If somebody has any ideas or practically help the people of Kamchatka please contact me. I shall forward your proposals to the Association "Far East-Zabaikalye" and contact the Kamchatka Governor. [...] HELLO RUSSIA (PRIVET ROSSIYA) - To subscribe send mail to: •••@••.••• with "Subscribe" in subject line. - URL: http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/HelloRussia/index. html ***********************************************
