TEN Index
Jan. 16-31, 1996, Vol. 2, No. 2 (8)
Transboundary News
ESTONIA -- SPECIAL FOREIGNER PASSPORTS WILL BE ISSUED to theapproximately 300,000 ethnic Russians now living withoutcitizenship or residency permits in Estonia, according to a newgovernment policy. Estonian nationalist politicians were stronglyopposed to the decision. The process of issuing the new foreignerpassports is expected to be lengthy. The Russian Foreign Ministryat the same time will now require that holders of Sovietpassports in Estonia have an entry stamp from the Russianconsulate before crossing into Russia. (Chas Pik, 17 Jan.)
TALLINN-MOSCOW -- RECENT NEGOTIATIONS OVER ESTONIAN-RUSSIANBORDER DELINEATION between Estonia and the Russian Federationhave ended in failure. According to a representative of theRussian negotiation team, negotiations failed because ofEstonian insistence that official Russian recognition of theTartu Peace Agreement of 1920 be included in the new borderagreement. The Tartu Peace Agreement transferred 2,500square kilometers to Estonia from Soviet Russia in 1920. Thatterritory was returned to the Soviet Union in 1940. (NevskoeVremiia, 31 Jan.)
ST. PETERSBURG-TARTU -- RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS WILL BEGIN TO STUDY THEESTONIAN LANGUAGE at the Department of International Affairs ofSt. Petersburg University. The department has organized aspecialized group of teachers to prepare diplomats for futurework in the Baltic States. Students of the group will studyEstonian language and Estonian politics, culture, and economy.Students have already had meetings with students of the SociologyDepartment of Tartu University and with Estonian writers.(Postimees, 26 Jan.)
FINLAND-RUSSIA -- CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW CUSTOMS STATION on theFinnish-Russian border near Vyborg, to called Brusnichnoe-2, willbe completed by May 30. The Finnish firm Polar is building thenew customs station. A Russian explosives team is now workingwith the Finnish firm in order to clear stone for the futureborder station's foundation. (Vechernii Peterburg, 22 Jan.)
PSKOV OBLAST-SOUTHEAST ESTONIA -- THE MOVEMENT OF CONTRABANDREMAINS HIGH through this border region. The volume of contrabandhas not been effectively reduced in the past year, according tothe Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of LeningradOblast. The contraband consists in large part of weapons andprecious metals. The police in this region are working on anespecially intensive schedule as a result of events in Chechnya.(Smena, 20 Jan.)
KOMI, RUSSIA-MUUGA, ESTONIA -- CONSTRUCTION OF AN OIL PIPELINEfrom the Russian oil fields in Komi to the Estonian port of Muugain Tallinn has been proposed as a feasible project in the nearfuture. The volume of oil and oil products which can betransported through Estonia today is highly restricted becausetransport relies only on the Estonian railway system. The totalvolume of oil and gas transported through Estonia last year was1.9 million tons (Estoniia, 24 Jan.)
RIGA-MOSCOW -- THE LATVIAN GOVERNMENT HAS APPROVED A COMMISSIONFOR OPENING NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIA over establishing legalrecognition by both sides of today's Latvian-Russian border.Latvia now has 1260 square kilometers less territory than it didby the terms of its 1920 peace agreement with Soviet Russia.About 18,000 people live on that territory today. The Latviangovernment's position in the future negotiations on the exactborder delineation is unclear. (Estoniia, 26 Jan.)
Environmental News
ST PETERSBURG -- A PROGRAM NAMED "LIFE" WILL HELP TO DISPOSEPROPERLY OF DANGEROUS WASTES from the city's hospitals. Theecological center ECAT and the city's Direction for EnvironmentalProtection are organizing the program. The city will financealmost 90 percent of the program. The European Union willcontribute the remaining 330 ECU for the completion of theenvironmentally safe disposal system. (Nevskoe Vremiia, 24 Jan.)
PSKOV -- A CONTRACT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY'S SECONDSEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT has been signed between the Danish firmKOBI, the Pskov city administration, and the city watersupplier Vodokanal. The project for the construction of thesewage plant was designed by KOBI under an agreement betweenRussia and Denmark within the realm of the Helsinki Agreement forthe Recovery of the Baltic Sea. The second sewage plant isplanned to go into operation by the end of 1996. Funds for thesewage plant construction come from the Danish government and thePskov city administration. (Novosti Pskova, 25 Jan.)
ST PETERSBURG -- NEW NORWEGIAN EQUIPMENT WILL HELP THE CITY'SWATER SUPPLIER VODOKANAL to decrease the seepage of untreatedsewage into the Baltic Sea. The agreement for this project wasoriginally signed in August and was followed by a series ofmeasurements and the creation of a database. The equipment willbe installed in three different sites in the city. The projectwas designed to help the city comply with the Helsinki Agreementfor the Recovery of the Baltic Sea. (Chas Pik, 27 Jan.)
PSKOV -- A NEW INSTRUCTION "ON GAME RESERVES OF REGIONALSIGNIFICANCE" was issued by the Pskov Oblast Administration.Existing state game reserves of the oblast levelwill now be re-organized into national nature reserves. Newreserves in Pskov oblast will also be created by the newinstruction. The goals and tasks of the new nature reserves,their operation, and their system of protection are defined bythe instruction. (Pskovskaia Pravda, 17 Jan.)
ST PETERSBURG -- OFFICIAL CITY MEASUREMENTS SHOW THAT THE QUALITYOF AIR HAS IMPROVED in the city on average by more thantwenty-five percent in recent years. The quality of air in theKalinin and Kirov parts of the city have improved the mostsignificantly. The main reason for the cleaner air is that alarge number of previously polluting factories have either closedor sharply reduced their production. The quality of air in thecity center has nevertheless deteriorated due to an increasedvolume of car exhaust. (Smena, 25 Jan.)
OULU, FINLAND -- EXPERIMENTATION WITH NEW EQUIPMENT WHICH CLEANSOIL-POLLUTED SOIL will begin this spring in this northern Finnishcity as a demonstration of new technology developed in CentralEurope. The new equipment is designed to clean heavy metals, oiland chemical traces from soil. The equipment works on the similarprinciple to that of a home washing machine, rinsing the soilwith cleansing solutions and then using centrifugal force to drythe soil. The waste water is cleaned separately. (SPb Vedomosti,26 Jan.)
TORFIANOVKA, RUSSIA -- REGULAR CLOUDS OF EXHAUST FUMES HAVE MOVEDFIFTY LOCAL RESIDENTS in this border village to threaten toblock with their bodies the main Helsinki-St. Petersburghighway. Residents argue that frequent three-kilometer-long linesof cars waiting for customs clearance on the Russian side of theborder produce dangerous levels of exhaust fumes in the nearbyvillage. Residents have no basis for complaint, said an officialof the Vyborg County administration, as Torfianovka lies morethan 300 meters from the main highway. (Chas Pik, 1 Jan.)
Conferences, Events, and Meetings
PSKOV -- THE RESULTS OF A SOCIO-ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE LAKEPEIPSI WATERSHED were presented at an international conference atVolnyi University on January 18. The NGO Lake Peipsi Project,Pskov Volnyi University, and Tartu University organized the studywhich was conducted during July 1995. Anthropological as well associological aspects of the present way of life of residents ofthe transboundary region were discussed, and questions of socialconflict and economic contradictions within local villages of theregion were raised. (Novosti Pskova, 18 Jan.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- "SOFT NATURAL WATER - A FACTOR OF RISK FOR THEHEALTH OF THE NORTHWEST," an environmental conference held at theInstitute of Physiology, focused on problems concerning the use ofwater from the Neva River in city drinking water. The water doesnot contain enough of those minerals required by humans, arguedsome scholars at the conference. In the past four years, thecardiology department of Pokrovskaia Hospital has conductedinvestigations on the contents of blood of many of its patientsand city residents. Results from the investigations werepresented at the conference. (Chas Pik, 31 Jan.)
OBINITSA, ESTONIA -- A WORKING MEETING OF LOCAL NON-GOVERNMENTORGANIZATIONS from that border region of Estonia and Russia lyingto the south of Lake Chudskoe (Lake Peipsi in Estonian) tookplace on January 26 in the Estonian village of Obinitsa. Discussed at the meeting was the possibility for the creation ofa simplified border-crossing procedure for local residents. Proposals for social and economic cooperation in thetransboundary region were also discussed. (Lake PeipsiProject Press Release, Jan. 29)
MURMANSK -- A WORKING GROUP OF THE PROGRAM "ENERGY 50" recentlydiscussed how a more rational use of energy by the city couldsolve many of the city's economic problems. The Finnishgovernment has proposed that the city of Murmansk accept a low-interest 150 million dollar loan in order to install more aefficient central heating equipment for the city. Most of theloan would have to be spent for purchasing equipment of Finnishproduction. It is predicted that the new equipment would reducethe city's energy costs by half. (Murmansk Vestnik, 16 Jan.)
HELSINKI -- THE METROPOLITAN OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OFFINLAND recently requested retirement from the Finnish Ministry of Religion and the choice for his successor is beingwidely debated. Because a large number of Russian Orthodox in Estonia have shown preference to the Finnish RussianOrthodox church over the Moscow Russian Orthodox church, it is expected that the new Finnish Metropolitan will strongly supportthe Finnish church's influence in Estonia. (SPb Vedomosti, 24 Jan.)
PETERSBURG-HELSINKI -- THE FIFTH INTER-GOVERNMENTAL MEETING OFFINNISH AND RUSSIAN CUSTOMS OFFICIALS took place recently in St.Petersburg. Cooperation and mutual help between the two nations'customs agencies were discussed. Memoranda concerning mutualassistance in locating contraband and radioactive materials weresigned. A better coordinated and effective system ofinformation exchange were also proposed. The Finnish sidedonated equipment for measuring radioactive levels at Russian customs checkpoints. The next working meeting is to be held in Helsinki. (SPb Vedomosti, 31 Jan.)
TALLINN -- AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MINISTERS OF DEFENSE OFESTONIAN, LATVIA, AND LITHUANIA, ministers and others military officials discussed plans for future cooperative training of aunited peace-keeping force from the three Baltic states. Problems with the formation of a united Balticpeace-keeping force had arisen over questions of the contribution of each state to the force. (Severnoe Poberezh'e, 23 Jan.)
TALLINN -- THE DIRECTORS OF THE ESTONIAN ZOOLOGY ANDBOTANY INSTITUTE AND THE ESTONIAN NATURE FUND have both changed.Former Zoology and Botany Institute director AndresKoppel gave up his responsibilities to Urmas Tartes. At an annual meeting of the NGO "Estonian Nature Fund," former executive director Rein Kuresoo gave up his responsibilities to Robert Oetjen. The latter came to Estonia from the U.S.A. three years ago as a volunteer of the U.S. Peace Corps. (Postimees, 1 Jan.)
New Facts and Statistics
VYBORG REGION-- THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE CROSSING VYBORG BORDER POSTSDOUBLED in 1995 in comparison to 1994. More than 3 millionpassengers, 16 million tons of cargo, 503,000 train cars, and2,500 ships crossed the Finnish-Russian border in the Vyborgregion. On average, 3,000 cars and 8,500 people cross the borderhere each day. (Chas Pik, 26 Jan.)
ST. PETERSBURG -- FINLAND REMAINS THE MOST POPULAR TOURISTDESTINATION for St. Petersburg residents, according to citytourist firms. Twenty-five percent of all trips abroad byPetersburg residents are to Finland. The next most populardestinations are Sweden and Israel, and then Bulgaria, Hungary,and Greece. (Chas Pik, 20 Jan.)
FINLAND -- FINLAND IS THE FOURTH MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRY in theworld, according to a Finnish statistical center. OnlySwitzerland, Japan, and Denmark are more expensive than Finland. In contrast, the buying potential of the average Finnish salaryis the lowest among all European Union countries. (SPB Vedomosti,23 Jan.)
TEN Index