NORWAY-RUSSIA -- REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NORWEGIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION BELLONA were refused visas by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to visit St. Petersburg, where colleague Alexander Nikitin is being held under arrest. Bellona representatives will be allowed to visit Moscow and Murmansk. The representatives had planned to visit St. Petersburg on October 10. They were bringing with them a large number of copies of printed material detailing the sources of the chapter written by Alexander Nikitin on environmental hazards in the North Sea left by the Russian Northern Navy. The chapter, for which Nikitin has been accused of treason, has been banned in Russia. It can be viewed at http://www.grida.no/ngo/bellona. (Smena, 12 Oct.)
TALLINN-MOSCOW -- 21 MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT CRITICIZED PRESIDENT MERI FOR MAKING UNCONSTITUTIONAL REMARKS about an imminent border agreement with Russia. Meri in an address on state television claimed that is Estonia ready for signing the border deal with Russia at any time. The MPs circulated their statement of criticism in parliament one day after President Lennart Meri was sworn in for his second term. Meri's words were seen as violating his mainly ceremonial role in Estonia. The MPs fear that Meri's statement could reflect a new tendency among high Estonian officials to ignore or amend the Estonian Constitution in signing a future border deal with Russia. (ETA, 7 Oct.)
RIGA-TALLINN-VILNIUS -- THE BALTIC STATES WILL COOPERATE IN BUYING ARMS in order to achieve practical cooperation and standardization of arms systems as would be required for acceptance into NATO. The three Baltic states' Defense Ministers, at a meeting with Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis in Riga on October 12, agreed that future arms purchases are to be considered together by the Baltic states in the preparation period for joining NATO. Estonian Defense Minister Andrus Oovel further told a press conference on October 14 that the Defense Ministers found that the Baltic peacekeeping battalion (BALTBAT) as a project must be preserved and developed. A joint air control system development is also under discussion by the Baltic states. (ETA, 14 Oct.)
RIGA-VILNIUS -- THE LATVIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIED THE AMOCO/OPAB OIL EXPLORATION AGREEMENT on its first reading by an overwhelming majority on October 9. Indulis Berzins, head of the legislature's Foreign Affairs Committee, reminded deputies that the agreement would only come into force after Latvia and Lithuania resolved differences over their sea border, but that it was important to send a signal to foreign investors that Latvia is a trustworthy business partner. The deal could bring the state budget 2O million lats /USD 39 million/ a year. A statement issued by the Latvian Foreign Ministry stated that four years of negotiations with the oil companies had been conducted openly and that ratification was not an attack on Lithuania's sovereign rights. (LETA, 10 Oct.)
MOSCOW-RIGA -- THE RUSSIAN DUMA HAS URGED ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST LATVIA as punishment for violating the rights of Russians living there. A statement adopted by the lower house of the Russian parliament appealed to President Boris Yeltsin to introduce sanctions against Latvia and to keep them in place until Latvia improves its treatment of Russians living in Latvia. The Duma's non-binding request, adopted by 230 votes to 11, was a direct response to an official Latvian appeal to the international community on August 22 to recognize Latvia's history after 1940 as one of "occupation of Latvia" by the Soviet Union. The Russian Duma, dominated in large part by communists and nationalists, said this declaration was "anti-Russian" and "provocative". Most Russians in Latvia and Estonia do not have citizenship. (Reuter, 6 Oct.)
MOSCOW-RIGA -- RUSSIA HAS THREATENED TO DEMARCATE UNILATERALLY ITS BORDER WITH LATVIA following inconclusive negotiations on the border question held recently in Moscow. A statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday stated that this step might have to be taken because Latvia continues to insist on recognition of the 192O peace treaty between the two countries, rather than accepting the principle of no changes to European frontiers offered by Russia. After Latvia became part of the Soviet Union in 1940, some of its eastern territory was given to the Russian Federation. Latvian Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Andrejs Pildegovics expressed his hope that "common sense and political will let Russia see the other point of view" and emphasized stated that the tone of the statement was unacceptable to Latvia. (LETA, 6 Oct.)
MOSCOW-RIGA-TALLINN -- RUSSIA PLANS TO PLACE AN OFFICIAL PROTEST TO THE UNITED NATIONS AGAINST ESTONIAN AND LATVIAN HUMAN RIGHTS. According to Genadii Tarasov, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia would present documents about the issue to the next session of the UN's General Assembly. "The Russian side has examined in detail the rights of Russian speaking inhabitants in Estonia and Latvia, who have had numerous citizen's and political rights taken away by state institutions," said Tarasov. "Russia would like a serious discussion about this issue, but without confrontation, and hopes that the General Assembly will adopt the resolution unanimously". (LETA, 10 Oct.)
RIGA-TALLINN -- ESTONIA AND LATVIA EXCHANGED SEA BORDER RATIFICATION NOTES at a meeting of Estonian Foreign Minister Siim Kallas and Latvian Foreign Minister Valdis Birkavs on October 10. Birkavs told a press conference that he was pleased the complicated issue had been brought to a successful conclusion. He saw in the sea border deal a promise that the two countries can cooperate in foreign policy during their integration process into the European Union and NATO. Birkavs said he hoped that the border issue between Latvia and Lithuania would be solved with as much goodwill as with Estonia. He said that Estonia and Latvia hope to find a solution soon to a border disagreement over the town of Valga/Valka, divided in half by the Estonian-Latvian border. (ETA, 10 Oct.)
LITHUANIA-BELARUS -- LITHUANIAN POLICE ARRESTED A GROUP OF 69 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRIVING FROM RUSSIA, part of large numbers of people being smuggled across the country to affluent Scandinavian countries, the interior ministry said. Smugglers have been using the Baltic states as conduits for would-be immigrants from Asia to the West, benefiting from inefficient and corrupt border controls between states of the former Soviet Union. The interior ministry said the police arrested 55 Iraqis, six Indians, five Afghanis and three Sri Lankans after they slipped across the border from Belarus. Migrants in the Baltic states usually end up in badly equipped detention camps as the states do not have readmission agreements with Russia and Belarus, through which the people are usually smuggled. (Reuter, 2 Oct.)
HELSINKI-TALLINN -- AN ESTONIAN-FINNISH AGREEMENT ON REPATRIATION OF IMMIGRANTS CAME INTO FORCE. The agreement has been one of the prerequisites Finland set for Estonia before visa free travel between the countries can be enforced. According to the agreement, illegal immigrants arriving in Finland from Estonia are sent back to the source country if definite proof exists of the origin of immigrants. The agreement also stipulates that Estonia and Finland will allow the transportation of illegal immigrants through each other's countries. Finland fears that after Estonians will be permitted to travel to Finland without visas beginning sometime next year, Estonia will become a stepping stone for immigrants from Russia on their way to better jobs in Western Europe. (ETA, 3 Oct.)
LATVIA-RUSSIA -- THE FLOW OF CONTRABAND PETROL COMING INTO LATVIA IS INCREASING, according to the Latvian Security Police. In the last three months, between 3O and 4O percent of all gasoline sold in Latvia was brought in illegally, according to Normunds Belskis, Press Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior. The contraband can be easily detected because of its significantly lower price at gasoline stations. (LETA, 7 Oct.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- ALEXANDER NIKITIN HAS RECEIVED A FORMAL WRITTEN STATEMENT OF ACCUSATION FROM THE FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICE (FSB). He is accused of being a "traitor to his homeland in the form of spying" (section 64-a of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), "divulging state secretes (section 75, part 2) and "falsifying a document" (section 196, part 1). The Public Committee for the Defense of Alexander Nikitin has officially announced that Nikitin is refusing to review the accusation on the grounds that his constitutional rights have been violated by "incompetent organizations" without the participation of the defense, which is a violation of the Criminal Code. (Smena, 3 Oct. and 5 Oct.)
ST. PETERSBURG-STOCKHOLM -- THE SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (SIDA) has designated 40 million kronor for development projects in St. Petersburg. A Swedish delegation, headed by the general director of SIDA, met with leaders of several city committees and organizations. Topics discussed were internship programs for specialists, cooperation between universities of St. Petersburg and Stockholm, and other social and economic projects. SIDA has designated another 60 million kronor for similar projects in the Northwest Region of Russia. (Vecher. Peterburg, 15 Oct., and Nevskoe Vremiia, 15 Oct.)
TALLINN -- THE ESTONIAN GOVERNMENT ADOPTED EIGHT DOCUMENTS AIMED AT INCREASING THE SPEED OF LAND REFORM. Minister of the Environment Villu Reiljan said that in two years half of the land that is to be returned to private owners should be returned. Reiljan said that last year a total of 125,000 ha of land was registered as returned in land registries but in the nine months of this year the number was only 150,000. A total of 850,000 ha of land is potentially to be returned in Estonia and 350,000 ha has already been returned. One of the documents postpones the application deadline for the return or compensation of unlawfully expropriated property until 15 January 1997. (Eesti Paevaleht, 5 Oct.)
LITHUANIA -- PRIVATE AND CORPORATE FOREST OWNERS HAVE BEEN WARNED TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF THEIR NEWLY PRIVATIZED PROPERTY, said the Lithuanian Ministry of Forestry. The new forest owners, who are largely city residents, often do not have the possibility or special knowledge for taking care of such property, according to the ministry. As a result, many forest areas are being devastated by those willing to derive profit from timber business. About 40,000 forest owners possess more than 200 thousand hectares of forest land with an average estate size amounting to 5 hectares. Out of 800,000 hectares of forest land, Lithuanian authorities envisage privatizing about 25 or 30 percent more. Lithuania has a forestry law that obligates new owners to look properly after their estates. (ELTA, 1 Oct.)
PORT OF TUUGA, TALLINN -- THE DANISH EURODEK COPENHAGEN COMPANY ANNOUNCED PLANS TO EXPAND CONSTRUCTION OF ITS OIL TERMINAL in the Port of Muuga in Tallinn with an investment 15 million USD. The Estonian Transport and Communication Minister Kalev Kukk and Eurodek's President Palle Rasmussen signed the agreement on October 9 for the transfer of 0.9 hectares of land in the port to Eurodek Transkeemia Eesti, which represents its Danish parent company. Another 1.8 hectares of land were already allotted to Eurodek this winter. The terminal will include two 5,000-cubic- meter tanks, two 3,000-cubic-meter tanks, and six 40,000-cubic- meter tanks. The new oil terminal will allow Eurodek to transport 300,000- 400,000 tons of fuel and oil products annually. Most of the fuel will be transported to Central Europe. (Postimees, 9 Oct.)
DAUGAVPILS, LATVIA -- CONSTRUCTION OF AN UNDERGROUND WATER SOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND WATER TREATMENT PLANT in Daugavpils being financed by the World Bank received approval from a recent World Bank delegation. The Bank is investing USD 6.9 million in the projects and is represented in Riga by the firm Parksman. The same firm is now demanding that water tariffs be raised next year and that the municipal water utility company be made into a share company in order to make the water source and treatment facilities sustainable. (LETA, 10 Oct.)
RIGA -- THE SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (SIDA) WILL GRANT RIGA USD 5.24 million to upgrade Riga's water supply and drainage system. At the agreement signing session, Latvia's Minister of the Environment, Indulis Emsis, said that as a result of the grant all residents of the city will have 24-hour access to clean drinking water by 2000. Most of the money will be used to reconstruct water treatment systems, because most of the run-off water from the center of Riga, where 2OO,OOO people live, now flows untreated into the Daugava River. The remainder of the funds will go towards rebuilding water towers and replacing old water mains. SIDA is also financing similar projects in two other Latvian cities, as well as in Estonia and Lithuania, with a total planned expenditure of USD 3O million. (LETA, 10 Oct.)
DOBELE, LATVIA -- A STORAGE FACILITY FOR TOXIC WASTE HAS BEEN COMPLETED AT A FORMER SOVIET TANK BASE in the town of Dobele in western Latvia. The facility will allow for the temporary storage of up to 1,OOO cubic meters of toxic wastes until more permanent disposal means are found. The facility will be operated by the local council and a private company Brovita, and is financed jointly by the Latvian government, the EU PHARE program, and the Danish government. (LETA, 6 Oct.)
LOVIZE, FINLAND-RUSSIA -- THE LOVIZE ATOMIC ELECTRIC STATION IN SOUTHERN FINLAND STOPPED sending the highly enriched uranium waste to Russia several months ago. From now on the waste will be stored on Finland soil. The plant was built 19 years ago by Soviet constructors. The original agreement between Finland and the Soviet Union called for the enriched uranium to be sent to the Soviet Union for disposal. The plant's planned life span is until the year 2017 and provides a third of Finland's electricity. It was the only Soviet atomic reactor not to be built in an Eastern-bloc country. (Vesti, 5 Oct.)
PETROZAVODSK, RUSSIA -- THE NATURAL GAS LINE PETROZAVODSK-VOLKHOV has been completed. Gazprom provided financing for the project. The Republic of Karelia provided Gazprom with several tax discounts in the construction of the line. Part of the stock of the firm Karelgaz will also be transferred to Gazprom as compensation for construction of the gas line. (Delovoi Peterburg, 4 Oct.)
BALTIC SEA -- THE PROGRAM "THE YEAR OF THE GULF OF FINLAND - 96" is beginning its concluding stage. Estonia, Finland, and Russia have participated in the program, which has had the goal of providing a joint evaluation of the water quality of the Gulf of Finland and to inform the public of the results of the evaluation through a series of public events. The evaluation has shown that the resorts of Sestroretsk and Zelenogorsk in the Eastern part of the Gulf are among the most polluted in the Gulf. (Vesti, 3 Oct.)
NEW YORK -- LITHUANIA BECAME THE 113TH COUNTRY TO SIGN THE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY at the UN. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Povilas Gylys signed the treaty with participation of UN Deputy Secretary General Ralph Zacklin and Lithuanian Ambassador to UN Oscar Jusys on October 7. The agreement provides for the ban of all nuclear tests on the territory of the contracting party. Subsequent to the signing ceremony, Gylys made a speech at the 55th session of the UN General Assembly. (ELTA, 7 Oct.)
SOSNOVY BOR -- THE FINANCIAL SITUATION OF THE LENINGRAD ATOMIC ELECTRIC STATION (LAES) remains difficult. The station is owed 150 billion rubles from users in debt. The first, second, and fourth energy blocks are now in operation. (Delovoi Peterburg, 8 Oct.)
LITHUANIA -- A GERMAN FIRM SEEKS TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR WASTE CONTAINERS with Lithuanian partners. The company Gesellschaft fur Nuklear - Behalter GmbH (GNB) is searching for Lithuanian partners to engage in joint production of nuclear waste containers. In 1993, GNB won a tender for producing ten nuclear waste containers for Lithuania. Three containers were produced in Germany and have already reached Lithuania. German managers of the firm said it would be less expensive to produce the remaining seven containers in Lithuania. (ELTA, 7 Oct.)
KINGISEPP, RUSSIA -- HUNDREDS OF MINK FURS WERE FOUND CONCEALED IN THREE TRAIN CARS carrying pillows and mattresses from Russia to Estonia. The Northwestern Customs Department discovered the contraband during a routine inspection. The furs had been purchased by an Estonian citizen to whom the furs were to be delivered without paying Russian export tax. (Vecher. Peterburg, 8 Oct.)
RIGA -- THE 9TH BALTIC ASSEMBLY SESSION, held on October 5 and 6 in Riga, adopted ten resolutions and a final document that emphasized that the Baltic states must seek closer cooperation in order to realize their mutual interests. The Assembly adopted resolutions on reform of prisoner detention facilities, children's rights, economical energy usage that takes into consideration the Baltic states' retrievable energy resources, the economical management of forests, and the certification of such forests. The next session of the Baltic Assembly will be held in April 1997. (ETA, 6 Oct.)
RIGA -- THE SEVENTH BALTIC SEA ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, which opened on October 14, included the participation of a wide range of international organizations and government officials from the Baltic region. The meeting of the commission is to last five days. The commission is to examine various questions relating to the environmental state of the Baltic and to discuss the results of various scientific surveys. (LETA, 15 Oct.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM "GULF OF FINLAND - 96" opened on October 15 in the city. Topics such as fishing and recreational activity on the gulf, oil and other pollution, and the cleaning of city sewage are to be discussed at the symposium. Vodokanal St. Petersburg and the Academy of Science organized the symposium. (Chas Pik, 15 Oct.)
GATCHINA, TIKHVIN, SHISSEL'BURG, RUSSIA -- THE BRITISH KNOW-HOW FUND will be participating in the establishment of three business centers in Gatchina, Tikhvin, and Shissel'burg of Leningrad Oblast. The Know-How Fund will finance the instruction of the employees of the new business centers. A second stage of funding from the Fund will support internships for those same employees in Great Britain. (Delovoi Peterburg, 1 Oct.)
VILNIUS -- AN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SEMINAR IN VILNIUS brought together heads of Lithuanian education institutions, top industry representatives, state officials and foreign experts in Vilnius on October 10. The seminar was arranged by the Lithuanian Innovation Center, Great Britain Know-How Fund, United Nations Development Program, and Danish Government. Foreign and local experts gave strategy advice on intellectual property management, explained legal steps for the commercialization of scientific products, and discussed intellectual property problems specific to Lithuania. (ELTA, 10 Oct.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- THE RUSSIAN DEPARTMENT OF THE BBC PLANS TO OPEN a retranslation station in St. Petersburg. The BBC can presently be heard on local city radio stations only on "Radio Russia" for 1.5 hours each week, and on "Maiak" for twelve minutes each week. A permanent exhibit on the BBC will also be established at the city's British Council office. (Smena, 15 Oct.)
NURLAND, NORWAY -- ST. PETERSBURG BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES VISITED NURLAND on an official visit in order to acquire business contacts. St. Petersburg city officials on the same visit held negotiations with Norwegian officials in order that St. Petersburg guarantee payment of goods delivered to St. Petersburg. In this way, Petersburg businessmen would not be required to pay for each order in advance. Nurland firms were particularly interested in developing business in the realm of fish production, environmental protection projects, postal services, and timber purchases. (Delovoi Peterburg, 11 Oct.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- THE PROGRAM "TEN DAYS OF GERMAN CULTURE" was opened at a ceremony in Anichkov Palace on October 7. The German Consulate and the Goethe Center organized the program. An exhibit "The Books of Youth" is to open at the Goethe Center. The Children's Palace of St. Petersburg is also offering other events for Petersburg children, including a series of films, within during the program. (SPb Vedomosti, 8 Oct.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- A SERIES OF SEMINARS FOR THE ADMINISTRATORS OF NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS was opened with a presentation by American fund-raising specialist Susan Scribner. She was invited to participate in the series of seminars organized by the charity Nevsky Angel. It is the second series of seminars organized by Nevsky Angel. Scribner has written several books on fundraising and other management strategies for NGOs. Two of her books have been translated into Russia. She spoke at the House of Journalism. (Vesti, 12 Oct., and Nevskoe Vremiia, 9 Oct.)
VILNIUS -- THE NEWLY CREATED LITHUANIAN STANDARDIZATION DEPARTMENT will now represent Lithuania at seven international organizations. The Lithuanian government has entrusted the department to represent Lithuania at the International Standardization Organization (ISO), International Electrotechnics Commission (IEC), European Standardization Committee, and other international organizations. This step is expected to help Lithuania to adopt world and European standards in its economy and trade spheres. (ELTA, 9 Oct.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- THE CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION "GOLD PELICAN" HAS PUBLISHED A NEW DIRECTORY of non-profit organizations in the city. The directory contains information about Petersburg organizations which serve the economically disadvantaged and other needing support. 10,000 copies of the directory have been published. (Chas Pik, 3 Oct.)
LENINGRAD OBLAST -- THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION "GREEN CROSS" is establishing a network of sanitariums, hotels, rest homes, and tourist clubs in Leningrad Oblast. The goal of the network is to provide information to residents of St. Petersburg about tourist and vacation sites within short distance of the city . (Delovoi Peterburg, 4 Oct.)
RIGA -- THE CHILDREN'S ART EXHIBITION "OUR FUTURE - OUR ENVIRONMENT" has opened in Riga. Drawings, photographs, and video tapes have been sent to the exhibition from 15 countries including Malaysia, Portugal, and Canada. The exhibition is being held in honor of the Riga Art School's tenth anniversary. (LETA, 15 Oct.)
PETROZAVODSK -- THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON LAKE LADOGA AND OTHER LARGE LAKES will be held in early August 1999 in Petrozavodsk, Russia. For further information, contact: Ms. Tuula Toivanen, University of Joensuu, P.O.Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland, fax 358 13 251 3449, e-mail SAIMAA@joyl.joensuu.fi
RUSSIA -- THE TOTAL NUMBER OF RUSSIAN WEB SERVERS was estimated at 2,000 during August 1996. Several tens of thousands of computer users in Russia had on-line Internet access. Several hundreds of thousands of users had e-mail access. About 10,000 St. Petersburg residents were estimated to have had access to e-mail. (Delovoi Peterburg, 8 Oct.)
BALTIC STATES -- LITHUANIA HAS THE LOWEST AVERAGE SALARY IN THE BALTIC STATES. During August 1996, the minimum wage, average wage, and old age pension were the lowest in Lithuania. The minimum wages reached 51.50 USD in Lithuania, 57.30 USD in Estonia, and 69.30 USD in Latvia. The average salary was 168.60 USD in Lithuania, 203 USD in Latvia, and 223 USD in Estonia. The average retirement pension was 46.30 USD in Lithuania, 69.40 USD in Latvia, and 77 USD in Estonia. (Sonumileht, 3 Oct.)
FINLAND -- THE AREA CODES OF FINNISH CITIES CHANGED ON OCTOBER 11. The country code of Finland 358 remains unchanged. The new area codes are: Helsinki 9 , Pori 2, Vaasa 6 , Savonlinna 15, Espoo 9 , Tampere 15, Turku 3 , Kuopio 17, Lahti 3 , Jyvaskyla 14, Lappeenranta 5.
ST. PETERSBURG -- THE GERMAN CONSULATE'S TELEPHONE NUMBER has changed to +7 (812) 327-31-11. The consulate's fax number remains +7 (812) 279-32-42. (Smena, 8 Oct.)