I. The Russian Youth Euroclub Marked its Fourth Anniversary on February 6

The nonpolitical organization "The Russian Youth Euroclub" [Rossiiskii molodezhnyi Evroklub] was founded in February, 1993, on the model of similar youth organizations in the countries of Europe. Euroclub received the support of the European Union representative in Moscow as part of the TACIS program and receives financial support from the Russian Linguistics Center. The Speaker of the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament at the time, V. Shumeiko, also supported this new movement. He believes that this is the only youth movement in Russia that "will develop the politicians of the third millenium."

The Russian organizers of the Euroclub movement believe that it may be considered an alternative to the Pioneers and Komsomol organizations [the official youth organizations of the Soviet period. Trans.] that have now disappeared. Representatives of over 130 coordinating centers and 312 public schools from 30 regions of Russia take part continually in the work of Euroclub. In addition to engaging in environmental, educational, creative and other programs, they prepare to work with the European Student Parliament [Shkol'nyi evropeiskii parlament], the first meeting of which took place in St. Petersburg in 1995. "They learn to understand the new all-European mentality and to think in supranational categories." [Trans. note: This quote is not attributed to a particular speaker in the original.] The representative of the European Union Commission in Russia Mr. Han, in his remarks to the conference "The European Union Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," which was organized by Russian Euroclub to celebrate its fourth anniversary, said that participation in the work of Euroclub will help the young citizens of Russia to understand how democracy functions in real life. In conclusion he invited all present to participate in Europe Days 97, which will take place in May in Moscow.

Students from Moscow, Moscow oblast, Kaluga and Irkutsk, representatives of the European Union and of the Europe Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences took part in the conference. One of the conference participants, Nadezhda Gennadievna Tiutrina, who is the director of the Siberia coordinating center and deputy director of school No. 47 in Irkutsk, told an ASI correspondent that participation in the work of Russian Youth Euroclub will open unlimited possibilities for young people from the provinces to communicate with their Russian and foreign colleagues. Moreover, while working with Euroclub on its original program "Ecology and Peace," the students were able to participate in the grants program of the Soros Foundation.

Euroclub's immediate plans include putting on Denmark Day in March, 1997.

The phone number of Russian Youth Euroclub is 208-0150 (Eleonora Vasil'evna Bukhvalova, Ol'ga Anatol'evna Iliukhina).

II. Creation of a Coalition in Support of the Third Sector

On February 4 at the House of Journalists there was a press conference on the Declaration on creating the "Union of Third Sector Organizations of St. Petersburg" [Ob'edineniia organizatsii tret'ego sektora Sankt-Peterburga]. The leaders of the founding group [of the Union] Vladimir Luk'ianov (of the charitable organization "Angel of the Neva") and Mikhail Gornyi (of the center "Strategy") presented the Declaration, which was signed on December 25, 1996, by representatives of 12 social organizations.

In his remarks Vladimir Luk'ianov emphasized that the need for such an institution is great and unquestionable. Mikhail Gornyi said that the sole purpose of the coalition today is to strive to protect the interests of social organizations from governmental agencies and commercial enterprises. Further tasks have not yet been determined. Nonetheless the organizers of the Union have already succeeded in enlisting the support of the Governor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Iakovlev.

The phone numbers for the Union of Third Sector Organizations are (812) 312-1010; (812) 112-6612.

III. The Department of Education Promises: Our Students Will Not Starve

Aleksandra Chub, the chief social security specialist with the Nizhnii Novgorod oblast Department of Education, made this point in her presentation at a meeting of social workers of regional education administrations. All the presenters at the meeting agreed that federal and local decrees on benefits for school children will not be fully met, since they are financed from meager local budgets. However, the most needy students in Nizhnii Novgorod receive free food daily in an amount equal to 6% of minimum wages.

Aleksandra Dmitrievna Chub plans this year to send children from needy families to the best children's camp--Camp Azure--where there is everything the children need for a complete vacation (nourishing food, participation in sports, and various cultural programs). The social workers plan to arrange vacations at Camp Azure, if only once a year, for all children that really need it.

IV. Participants in the Military Conflict in Chechnya from Nizhnii Novgorod Await a Decision of the Governor

Nizhnii Novgorod has become the first city to introduce benefits for participants in the military conflict in the Chechen Republic who were wounded during their military service. The recently created social organization "Veterans of the Chechen Conflict" and its director Oleg Sharpov are responsible for this accomplishment. Today Nizhnii Novgorod's Chechnya veterans receive a 50% reduction in rent, priority for medical assistance, and free transportation on the municipal trolleys and subway. At the present time activists from the organization are compiling lists and preparing a certificate establishing the right to these benefits.

By the end of last year, documents had been prepared that would extend these benefits to veterans living in the [Nizhnii Novgorod] oblast. They have been send to the governor for signing, but so far there has been no response. Oleg Sharpov says: "Our organization has done everything it needed to do. Now it is a matter for the oblast administration."

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