I. Alternatives to Military Service Still Sought

On December 19 a round table discussion was held at the Duma building on the topic of alternatives to military service. The round table was organized by the Moscow-based charitable foundation, "Social Partnership," with the support of the Duma's Committee on Civic Associations and Religious Organizations and the Ford Foundation. Participants at the discussion included representatives from civic organizations and government officials from eight different regions in the Russian Federation who have been working on the issue of alternative military service.

Although in theory the constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees citizens the right to substitute traditional military service with an alternative form of civil service, thus far no law has been passed that would allow this possibility in practice. This absence of any means of legal implementation puts the court system in an awkward position; while the court can rule that a young man called to military service has a right to opt instead for alternative service, in the end there is simply no other choice but military duty. In the opinion of those gathered at the round table discussion, the sole possibility for progress on this issue lies in the creation of experimental programs at the regional level, which would allow the actual realization of alternative military service. A positive development has already occured in St. Petersburg, where the city administration is conducting a trial program, allowing young men to serve out their military duty working in homes for the elderly and the handicapped.

"Currently there are two positions concerning where alternative military service should take place," said Valerii Borshchev, deputy chairman of the Committee on Civic Associations and Religious Organizations. "Our committee believes that it should be within the sphere of social services, while the Defense Committee believes differently; that alternative positions should still be served within the military sphere, as civil personnel, etc. The important issue now is to convince the public that our obligation to society can be fulfilled in other ways than military service. Why would tiring, dirty work in a hospital be any less important than killing an enemy in battle?"

Contact telephone: (095) 973-1870 ("Social Partnership" Foundation)

II. Homeless Union is Created in St. Petersburg

In St. Petersburg a professional union for people without jobs or housing has been created with the support of the "Inventor- Entrepreneur" club. The union's plans include the creation of a job bank and a "cooperative association" that will give moral and legal support to those who have lost their homes and jobs. Gennadii Zuev, leader of the new union, believes that due to a lack of knowledge of their legal rights, particularly the right to freedom of movement, the homeless lose their hopes of survival. "We must create a new, civilized approach to resolving this problem," stated Zuev. Currently the homeless organization has 20 members, but Zuev believes that it will soon become one of St. Petersburg's largest associations.

The idea for creating the homeless union arose in April of 1997 and, thanks to support from a series of professional unions such as "Independence," "Creek," "Creator," and the "Equality" association of professional unions, the idea was realized. The organization is eager to work with other groups who are aiding the homeless and their families. The union is in the process of being registered in St. Petersburg.

Contact telephone: (812) 251-9777 (Gennadii Zuev)

III. "Polar Star" Appears Again in Archangelsk

"Polar Star"--a newspaper dealing with social, political, scientific and educational topics--is available again in Archangelsk, thanks to the civic organization "Northern Democratic Movement." One of the newspaper's primary goals is the support of citizen initiatives. Along with articles on regional politics and political figures, business and cultural events, the publication features stories on the non- commercial sector and lists contact information for organizations in the Barents Sea region. An editorial written by S. Federov, chairman of the Partnership of Housing Collectives, offers Federov's view of housing reform in the Archangelsk region--he believes that problems of reform are closely linked to issues of autonomy at the local government level. In a different article, author V. Shikhov acquaints readers with the work of various consumers' rights organizations.

Over the past two years, only four issues of "Polar Star" have been published; however, editor Gelb Tyurin remains optimistic about the prospects of the newspaper, despite financial setbacks. He hopes that future issues will focus on NGOs in the Archangelsk region.

Contact information: (8182) 49-4458

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