TEN Index

Mar. 16-31, 1996, Vol. 2, No. 6 

Transboundary News

TALLINN-MOSCOW -- THE ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER DENIED THE POSSIBILITY of Estonia ever joining the "Union of Four" which Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, and Belarus recently formed. Prime Minister Tiit Viakhi further stated that Estonia would continue to insist on recognition by Russia of the Tartu Peace Agreement of 1920. (SPb Vedomosti, 27 Mar.)

RIGA-MOSCOW -- THE GENERAL PROCURATOR OF LATVIA WILL SOON FILE A CRIMINAL SUIT against those former employees of the Soviet nomenclature who participated in "genocide against the local population" in Latvia during the Soviet period. No individuals have yet been accused, but it is expected that those who participated in the repressions of Latvian proponents of independence during the period 1941-45 will be judged. A life sentence is required by law for those found guilty. (Chas Pik, 28 Mar.)

RIGA-MOSCOW -- NEW IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS will be issued to those former Soviet residents now living in Latvia without Latvian citizenship. Those residents for the most part have only internal Soviet passports and are now unable to travel outside of Latvia. Estonia, Lithuania, the Benelux countries, and the United States have already recognized the new identification documents as acceptable for visits. (Chas Pik, 22 Mar.)

TALLINN-MOSCOW -- THE MOST RECENT ROUND OF ESTONIAN-RUSSIAN BORDER NEGOTIATIONS has ended in failure. The negotiations were held on March 27-28. Some progress was reported in terms of border delineation, but the political question of Russia's failure to recognize the Tartu Peace remains an insurmountable obstacle to any final border agreement signing. (Estoniia, 29 Mar.)

LAPPENRANTA-LENINGRAD OBLAST -- THE FINNISH PRESIDENT PROPOSED THE OPENING OF A FREE ECONOMIC ZONE in the Estonian-Russian border area adjacent to the Finnish city Lappenranta. Such a zone would increase greatly investment in the region, in his view. Finnish laws could be changed to accommodate such a zone on the Finnish side. President Martti Aktisaari made his comments during an official visit in Dubai. (SPb Vedomosti, 20 Mar.)

MOSCOW-VILNIUS -- LITHUANIA HAS RECOMMENCED PAYMENT TO GAZPROM for past debts. Delivery of gas from Russia by Gazprom to Lithuania has dropped by 75% as a result of Lithuania's failure to make payments. (SPb Vedomosti, 27 Mar.)

FINLAND-KIRISHI -- KIRISHINEFTEORGSINTEZ has produced its first shipment of detergent and it has been shipped to Finland for sale. Such sales have helped to finance the construction of a new modern theater in Kirishi. Kirishi is the largest oil refinery in the Northwest Region. (Vesti, 16 Mar.)

MOSCOW-TALLINN -- MEDICAL SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED FOR RUSSIAN RETIRED MILITARY OFFICIALS, according to a new agreement signed between Estonia and Russia. Dependents of those officials will also be provided with medical services. (ETA, 27 Mar.)

Environmental News

ST PETERSBURG -- THE HIGHLY TOXIC CHEMICAL ANILINE LEAKED in significantly dangerous amounts from a railroad tank car on March 19. The tank car was temporarily parked at the station Ruchi before it was to be sent to Finland. The chemical leaked during the course of at least one night at the rate of 200 grams per hour. Finnish authorities will not accept a damaged tank car onto Finnish territory. (Smena, 20 Mar.)

PSKOV -- A LARGE NUMBER OF ILLEGAL FOREST CUTS have been discovered in Pskov Oblast. Official estimates show that more than five thousand cubic meters of forest were illegally cut during the course of 1995. Forest protection officials, citing insufficient financing, are unable to stop such illegal action and no improvement in the situation is expected in the near future. (Pskovskaia Pravda, 20 Mar.)

ST PETERSBURG -- SPRING MELTING OF THE NEVA RIVER and an increased level of bacteria in the water have focused attention on a proposal to bring water from Lake Ladoga directly to St. Petersburg. Practical aspects of the implementation of the project is still being debated by city experts. The project was first proposed only 15 years after plumbing was installed in the city in 1864. (Neva News, April issue)

LOMONOSOV -- BATATEINAIA BAY HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE HIGHLY POLLUTED due to the military's dumping of waste there. Environmental experts from Lomonosov first brought news of pollution of the site to the attention of city officials. Boilers used at the site are the largest source of pollution. Military officials have refused to pay fines for the polluted site. (Vecher. Peterburg, 20 Mar.)

ST PETERSBURG -- THE DIRECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER ECAT has been officially transferred from its founders in Hamburg to city authorities. The city will now provide the main supervision over the center. ECAT has been successful in implementing many environmental projects and programs in the last three years, including supplying equipment for recovering spilled oil, aiding firms in reducing toxic waste, and a wide range of public awareness programs. (Nevskoe Vremiia, 29 Mar.)

ST PETERSBURG -- THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL and competition ended in several awards for filmmakers from the region. Finnish, Danish, and St. Petersburg directors all won awards. ECAT's city office organized the festival in cooperation with city authorities. Film cassettes from the festival are available from ECAT for the public's use. Contact 7 (812) 352-25-04. (Smena, 19 Mar. and Vecher. Peterburg, 18 Mar.)

PSKOV -- THE FIRST WASTE TREATMENT PLANT for processing Pskov's city sewage will be finished by fall 1996. All waste from the city's center will be treated for biologically dangerous components, which should significantly reduce the level of biological pollution of the Velikaia River and the Lake Peipus watershed. (Pskovskaia Pravda, 22 Mar.)

PORVOO, FINLAND -- SMALLER VOLUMES OF RUSSIAN OIL are being refined and processed in this Finnish port because of the increased costs of removing sulphur from that oil. Crude oil from the Northern Sea is considered "lighter" and contains lower levels of sulphur, making it less expensive for refiners to produce environmentally cleaner products. (Smena, 21 Mar.)

Conferences, Events, and Meetings

TARTU -- THE CONFERENCE "ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE OF THE LAKE PEIPSI AND OTHER TRANSBOUNDARY WATERCOURSES BETWEEN THE BALTIC STATES AND RUSSIA: Practices, Experiences, and Prospects for Future" will be held on April 16-18 in Tartu. The aim of the conference is to facilitate a dialogue between representatives of governments, researchers, NGOs, and business. The conference is being organized by the Stockholm Environment Institute, UNDP, and the NGO Lake Peipsi Project. (Lake Peipsi Project)

MURMANSK -- THE CONFERENCE "EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY ON THE ARCTIC ENVIRONMENT" brought together environmental, gas, and oil experts from Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia. The economic advantages and environmental risks of mining natural resources in the fragile Arctic conditions were debated. Representatives from Gazprom and the Russian Ministry of the Environment also participated in the conference. (Murmanskii Vestnik, 21 Mar.)

PSKOV OBLAST -- A BOTANIC SURVEY OF WINTER FAUNA is now being completed by zoologists of St. Petersburg University in four regions of the central and northern parts of Pskov Oblast. Their work should provide the basis for a more detailed study of the biodiversity of Pskov Oblast during the winter months, and also allow more precision in calculating the size of hunting quotas. (Pskovskaia Pravda, 26-27 Mar.)

ST PETERSBURG -- THE PROGRAM "DAYS FOR THE PROTECTION AGAINST ECOLOGICAL DANGERS" will take place ten years after the Chernobyl accident and is intended to raise public awareness of environmental problems. The program will take place in two parts, from April 15 to June 5 and from August 31 to September 8, and will consist of a large number of environmental awareness activities for city residents. (SPb Vedomosti, 20 Mar.)

ST PETERSBURG -- THE SYMPOSIUM "SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY" debated questions concerning health protection from the point of view of geographic location. The health of those serving in the military in specific regions and nature of geographically specific diseases were in particular discussed. The symposium was held at the Russian Geographic Society. (Vecher. Peterburg, 26 Mar.)

TALLINN -- ABOUT 15,000 RUSSIAN ORTHODOX demonstrated against the decision by city authorities to transfer church property to its competing branch of the Orthodox Church in Estonia. The latter church belongs to that branch of the Orthodox church descended from Constantinople and has close ties with the Orthodox Church of Finland. (SPb Vedomosti, 19 Mar.)

MONCHERGORSK, RUSSIA -- A CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE was held for for school children and students and organized by city authorities. An ecological olympiad was held at the same time as the conference. A children's ecological center will soon be opened and children will be able to conduct their own experiments there. (Murmanskii Vestnik, 15 Mar.)

ST PETERSBURG -- THE EXHIBIT "FINBIZNES-96" was held for four days at the central Manezh exhibit hall. Four parts of the exhibit included food products, home and office furniture, fashion, and tourism. The Association for Foreign Trade of Finland organized the exhibit. The exhibit opened on March 26. (SPb Vedomosti, 27 Mar.)

TALLINN -- AN AGREEMENT OF COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF CINEMA was concluded between Estonia and Russia on March 23. The agreement concerns joint Estonian-Russian films, and foresees the organization of joint festivals and other activities in the field of cinema. (ETA, 23 Mar.)

New Facts and Statistics

TALLINN -- THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TELEPHONE MINUTES recorded between Estonia and Finland surpassed that between Estonia and Russia for the first time last year. More than 15 million minutes were recorded. (SPb Vedomosti, 21 Mar.)

TALLINN-MOSCOW -- ESTONIAN AND RUSSIAN POSTAL SERVICES HAVE SIGNED AN AGREEMENT for the maximum level of postal money transfers between the two states. According to the new agreement, a postal money transfer cannot be higher than US $700 between Estonia and Russia. (Estoniia, 21 Mar.)

ESTONIA -- THE NUMBER OF EMIGRANTS FROM ESTONIA IN 1995 WAS EIGHT TIMES HIGHER than the number of immigrants. 10,746 residents left Estonia, whereas 1274 became residents there. (SPb Vedomosti, 21 Mar.)

HELSINKI -- THE FINNISH BUDGET IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET for the first time for examination by anyone with access to the World Wide Web. (SPb Vedomosti, 22 Mar.)


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