I. "Youth Solidarity" Renames Lenin Monument on Kaluzhskaia Square

On September 11, the "Youth Solidarity" group held a ceremony to rename a Lenin monument on Kaluzhskaia Square, changing the statue instead into a monument to actor V.B. Shchukin who portrayed Lenin in several Soviet-era films. The renaming was sanctioned by the district's central administration office. Roman Tkach, a member of "Youth Solidarity" explained the idea behind the monument's name change, "The debate in Russian society surrounding the events of 80 years ago still hasn't been resolved. People continue to divide themselves into pro-Lenin and anti-Lenin camps. But neither camp harbors any ill-will towards V.B. Shchukin. We believe that there's no reason to get rid of all of the political monuments--it should suffice to rename them in honour of actors from stage and screen." Tkach goes on to assert that the Moscow city government should support the renaming campaign in an effort to alleviate societal tensions. "Youth Solidarity" has already prepared a list of monuments in need of renaming, including statues dedicated to Dzerzhinskii and Kalinin.
Contact Telephone: (095) 229-1671

II. Global Ecology Fund Supports 25 Projects in Russia

On September 8 and 9, a conference on cooperative efforts between NGOs and the Global Ecology Fund (GEF) was held in Moscow. The Global Ecology Fund helps implement initiatives and projects dedicated to protecting the environment in transitional economies. Over the past four years, the Fund has supported 25 different large-scale environmental projects in Russia, providing approximately 250 million dollars of funding. GEF was originally created in 1987, as a result of the World Commission on the Environment and Development (the Bruntland Commission). Today, according to GEF president Mohammed El-Ashri, the Fund is both a platform for international cooperation, as well as a mechanism for attracting investors for environmental projects worldwide. 142 governments currently donate to the Fund.

The fundamental goals of GEF are the preservation of biodiversity, protection of the world's water quality, and prevention of global warming and ozone depletion. In Russia, GEF supports a large-scale program on preserving biodiversity and protecting ecosystems from degradation, a crucial issue, since in recent years the disappearance of certain species and populations in Russia has greatly accelerated.
Contact Telephone: (095) 125-2870

III. 14 Cossack Schools Receive Special Textbooks for the New School Year

14 Cossack national schools in Volgograd, Kuban, and Rostov received a new textbook for the coming school year. 3500 copies of "The History of Orthodoxy on the Don," which describes the cultural and religious history of the Cossack people, were distributed by the "Cossack School" charitable foundation to the schools in time for the new school term. Lev Fil'kin, general director of "Cossack School," traveled throughout the Don region to deliver the new history books, visiting both villages and cities. Fil'kin stated that one of the most pleasant results of his trip was getting acquainted with the emerging "Cossack intelligentsia" that he encountered at various schools. In his opinion, it is this intelligentsia that will help determine the future of Cossack national education.
Contact Telephone: 482-6168 (Lev Alekseevich Fil'kin)

IV. Conference on Refugees and Resettlement in St. Petersburg

A conference on the creation of a network of organizations dealing with resettlement of refugees in northwest Russia took place in St. Petersburg, September 6-10. The conference was organized by the Forum of Resettlement Organizations and the St. Petersburg Refugee Association, with financial support from the Eurasia Foundation. Leaders of refugee organizations from 20 regions in the Russian Federation met at the conference to discuss their experiences, successes and failures. Specifically, conference participants focussed on the issues that currently impact the creation of organizations for refugees or displaced peoples--among the topics discussed were financing, cooperative efforts between organizations, and how organizations can work with the government. In the last year and a half, 47 organizations dealing with refugee or resettlement issues have been formed in Russia. However, according to conference participant Lidia Grafia (director of the Moscow-based Council of Aid for Refugees and Displaced Peoples), many of these organizations don't truly work to defend refugees from government policies, but rather, to defend the government from refugees.

V. Red Cross Aids Orphanage Near Nizhnii Novgorod

On September 4, the Red Cross delivered warm clothing, toys, medicine and food to a newly opened orphanage in Navashin, outside the city of Nizhnii Novgorod. Items were donated by various businesses and organizations in Nizhnii Novgorod. The Red Cross had received a letter asking for help from the orphanage's directors in August. The orphanage was slated to open in mid-September, but was unable to acquire necessary supplies. Donations of food and clothing were difficult to find in the Navashin area due to the recent closing of the Oka shipbuilding plant, which employed many local residents. The Red Cross hopes to continue helping the orphanage and other charitable organizations in the area.
Contact Telephone: 33-42-27 (Yuri Likhotnikov)

VI. Library for Non-Profit Organizations Opens in Irkutsk

The Citizen's Information Initiative has opened a library in Irkutsk aimed at those working or interested in the non-profit sector. According to Citizen's Information Initiative president M.P. Safonovaia, the library will contain over 600 foreign publications (in English) on topics ranging from management and marketing to public relations.
Contact Telephone: (3952) 46-2429
E-Mail: [email protected]

VII. Rock Group ChaiF and the Java Corporation Help Retarded Children

Patients at an Ekaterinburg psychiatric hospital for children received school supplies and a party to celebrate the beginning of the new school term from rock group ChaiF and the Java Corporation. The donations were a continuation of ChaiF's previous charitable actions; the group began raising money for sick children in 1995, and became acquainted with the Ekaterinburg hospital during that same year. ChaiF members have visited the hospital many times since then, bringing presents and needed items. The Java Corporation, which sponsored ChaiF's recent tour in England, decided to take part in the rock group's most recent donation and visit to the hospital. According to ChaiF members, the mental states of a majority of the young patients at the hospital (many of whom have lost their families due to their medical condition) have suffered simply because of abuse and neglect. The group hopes that by visiting the patients frequently and relating to them like "normal" children, perhaps they can help them towards the path to an independent life.

VIII. Informational-Educational Center for Women Opens in the Chelyabinsk Region

An informational-educational center for women has opened in Snezhinsk; it is the first such organization in the Chelyabinsk region. The creation of the center was organized by the Independent Women's Forum and local women's groups, and was funded by the Ford Foundation. It is hoped that the center's activities will help strengthen civic initiatives both in Snezhinsk and throughout the Chelyabinsk region. According to the director of the Independent Women's Forum's information center, Elizaveta Bozhkovaia, women's groups in Snezhinsk were previously caught in an informational vacuum, due to the fact that the city was closed to free entry and exit. The telephone isn't always the best means of communication and the postal system is both slow and expensive. But today, e-mail and the Internet connect women's organizations from Moscow, Petrozavodsk, Pskov and Voronezh. Women's organizations from Snezhinsk can use the Internet to find out about the development of the women's movement in Russia, as well as make contact with foreign groups and potential partners.

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