I. Journalists Are Dying of Hunger in Rostov-on-Don

On November 18, the Glasnost Defense Foundation issued a statement about the situation of journalists and media professionals in Rostov-on-Don. In particular, the statement revealed that on October 23, 1997, Sergei Chekalin, a reporter at the "Priazovskii Krai" newspaper, had taken his own life. In his suicide note, Chekalin explained that his decision had been prompted by a complete lack of the resources necessary to live. Chekalin had repeatedly appealed to Vasilii Kuchkov, director of the joint-stock company that owned "Priazovskii Krai," asking for payment of his last six months' wages. After failing to receive a reasonable answer from Kuchkov, Chekalin began a two week hunger strike, which also failed to bring about any results...

In addition, since November 7, the head editor of the "Zori Manycha" newspaper and deputy to the Rostov oblast duma, Evgenii Tkachev, has been on a hunger strike. On November 14, doctors told representatives from the Glasnost Defense Foundation that Tkachev's health was in serious danger due to the strike. "Zori Manycha," while considered to be one of the best newspapers in the Rostov area, didn't receive a sufficient state subsidy this year and as a consequence employees of the paper have not been paid since February.

The Glasnost Defense Foundation's statement also reported that a plenary session of the Rostov chapter of the Union of Journalists was held at the end of October. The sole item on the session's agenda was on the issue of the "extreme economic situation" for journalists in Rostov. It was explained at the session that Rostov oblast administrators have devised a new system of ownership for regional and city newspapers--it is proposed that they will become unified municipal enterprises.

"All of this testifies to the catastrophic state of the media in Rostov oblast," concludes the Glasnost Defense Foundation release. "The attempt to turn newspapers into municipal enterprises reveals systematically constructed tactics to smother the press."

II. Questions Arise About Foreign Adoptions

On November 20 Alevtina Aparina, chairwoman of the Committee on Women, Children & the Family, held a press conference at the Duma offices on the subject of foreign adoption of Russian children. Igor Kamnev and Irina Kuznetsova, legal consultants for the Committee, also took part in the conference.

According to statistical data, some 533,100 children in Russia are currently orphans. Only five percent of this number are true orphans, without any living parent. The remainder were given up by their parents. Every year, nearly 30,000 children are adopted in Russia-- around half of them are adopted either by a step parent or by a close relative. The number of children adopted by strangers has been dropping steadily; in 1993 15,264 children were adopted by strangers, while in 1996 this number had fallen to 8,799. Data given by the Ministry of Health reveal that approximately four percent of children born each year are immediately given up by their mothers. Aparina attributes the growth of this figure to the lack of respect for women and mothers in Russian society.

But despite the negative state of affairs for orphaned children in Russia, Aparina's Committee has voiced a strong opinion against the adoption of Russian children by foreigners. Statistics have shown that such adoptions have risen over the past four years; 1,376 in 1993 growing to 3,197 in 1996. The latter figure, however, is disputed by Aparina, who points to American statistics that indicate that U.S. citizens alone adopted 3,500 Russian children in 1996. There are currently fifty agencies active in Russia that help foreigners adopt children.

According to Committee member Irina Kuznetsova, the biggest problem with foreign adoptions is the inability to adequately oversee the welfare of the adopted child after he or she leaves Russia. The child is wholly dependent on the new parents, but there have been incidents where the adoptive parents have rejected the child that they selected from photographs and sent the child back to Russia. Committee members believe that a solution to the problems of foreign adoption can be found in the proposed legislation that they have submitted for consideration at the next Duma session (December 5). If approved, the law would give priority to Russian Federation citizens in adopting Russian children.

Contact telephone: 292-1978 (Committee on Women, Children & the Family)

III. Sex Education Program in Schools Incites Protests

On November 17 at the Central House of Journalists in Moscow, a round table discussion took place on the subject of sex education for school-age children. Discussion participants included Gennadii Polozov, head of the Children's Affairs Department at the General Procurator's office, Duma deputy Vladimir Davidenko, and Vyacheslav Maslov, chief lecturer on sexual pathology at the Russian Medical Institute.

The round table was convened to discuss an inquiry made to the General Procurator's office by Duma deputy T. Astrakhankinaia. In the name of her constituents, Astrakhankinaia expressed concern over a sex education program being conducted in several Moscow-area schools, which she thinks violates statutes of the Russian Federation constitution. "We conducted an investigation at the pilot schools where the program has been implemented (by order of Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health) and found that it is in accordance with constitutional law," Gennadii Polozov stated at the discussion. The other participants at the round table weren't satisfied by this answer, however. Vladimir Davidenko expressed the opinion that the presidential project, "Family Planning," which is responsible for the sex education program currently in question, was actually created in the West with the goal of lowering birthrates in Russia. Others stated that they believed the program would corrupt teenagers and encourage them to have sex, since it contains a section on "safe sex" and would make condoms available to students.

"I believe that there is no reason to speak to children about sex in school," said Vyacheslav Maslov, "They can obtain accurate information through books and videos designed by specialists in the subject." Maslov also pointed out that in the United States a program had recently been approved by the President to teach abstinence, and encourage marriage and family values.

IV. Arkhangelsk City Newspaper Teams Up With Youth Association

Every two weeks the Arkhangelsk paper, "Business for You," devotes a section to the problems and issues faced by young people. The section is prepared by members of a local youth association, "Community," and includes information for teenagers on such topics as their rights and privileges and how to find a job. The section tries to encourage youth participation in various civic and political activities and initiatives, and educate young people about political and economic development. It is the first such attempt to address youth issues in an Arkhangelsk newspaper.

Contact telephone: (8182) 49-4458, 44-8066
E-mail: [email protected]

V. Detoxification Center to Open in Novosibirsk

"Miracle," a civic organization in Novosibirsk, plans to open a non-medical detox center. The center will be called "Getting Sober with the 12 Steps." According to statistical data, the "12 Step" program has enjoyed 60 years of success and helped more than five million people in countries around the world. "We're not just curing the illness, but the reasons for the illness," said Nikolai Zhukov, manager of the new center. "Our method is based on psychoanalysis. We help people to understand the nature of the problems that led to their illness, and, as a consequence, help them change their lives." Athough the center hasn't yet officially opened, work there has been going on since August. "About eight people a week come to the center. That's not a lot, but we work with them on an individual basis. We are also going to start a preventative program, in cooperation with several health organizations," stated Zhukov.

Contact telephone: (3832) 52-1254
E-mail: [email protected]

VI. Odessans and Americans Discuss the Relationship Between Civic Organizations and Government

On November 18 an American delegation from Portland, Maine, met with representatives from the Odessa city association. The primary goal of the meeting was to share experiences and ideas on how civic organizations work with local governments. Participants at the meeting included representatives from municipal, civic, and commerical organizations in both the US and Ukraine. The meeting was organized by the Odessa City Office for Cooperation with Civic Groups and the editorial board of the "Charity Bulletin" newspaper. It was sponsored by Project Harmony.

Attendees at the meeting discussed how civic organizations can influence local government. Odessans learned that it isn't possible to build civil society "in general." Civic groups should concentrate on working in cooperation with local government, lobbying for their issues and for money from the local budget, and contributing to the development of their cities.

Project Harmony in the U.S.
Tel: (802) 496-4545
E-mail: [email protected]

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