http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/world/europe/21russia.html
See a video on the bridge to nowhere: Russki's Island Bridge
Posts tonen met het label Vladivostok. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label Vladivostok. Alle posts tonen
zondag 25 oktober 2009
zondag 26 april 2009
Russki Island Bridge
Here on Russia's eastern edge, seven time zones from Moscow, a huge project is beginning to take shape.
Two miles worth of steel and cable will connect the mainland to a small island where there is not much besides a few thousand residents, some age-old ice fishing grounds and patches of locally prized curative herbs.
The comparison, of course, is hard to shake: the Kremlin is building its very own Bridge to Nowhere. And not even the financial crisis is putting a stop to it.
The government plans to spend well over $1 billion on the span, which is to be one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, and at least $6 billion on related projects in this thinly populated region, near China and North Korea.
The projects are supposed to spruce up Vladivostok to serve as the host for the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in 2012, and come on top of another $6 billion that the government is allocating for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the southern resort city of Sochi.
The costs for both ventures are likely to soar because of inadequate planning and widespread corruption in Russia, officials acknowledged.
The government is pouring money into the Vladivostok and Sochi events despite acute pressure on the federal budget from the financial crisis and rising concerns about the overall neglect of infrastructure in Russia. Poor quality roads, ports, power plants and other facilities have long been a drag on the Russian economy, as any multinational company that tries to do business in the country can attest. The spending looms large because the government has sharply cut the rest of the infrastructure budget in response to the financial crisis. As a result, the work in Vladivostok and Sochi is drawing criticism that the Kremlin is focusing on trophy projects that might burnish national pride, but will not yield long-term economic benefits.
"Obviously, this spending on Vladivostok and Sochi doesn't make any sense," said Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist for Russia at Nomura International, a securities firm.
"If Russia wants to diversify from the oil and gas sector, the only way to create sustainable growth is to create real infrastructure - such as, for example, doing badly needed repairs to Russia's transport systems, including the dilapidated railway network, and spending on ports and the electricity grid." Before the financial crisis, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin proposed a $1 trillion program to modernize infrastructure, but those plans have been largely shelved, officials said, in favor of spending on social and employment programs, which are aimed at helping to soothe tensions in distressed parts of the country.
Financial analysts estimated that Russia spent roughly $42 billion for infrastructure in 2008, about 13 percent of government spending. This year and next, however, that figure is expected to drop to 5 to 7 percent, they said, and that includes the outlays for Vladivostok and Sochi. The Kremlin is eager to use the Vladivostok meeting in 2012 to demonstrate that Russia is as much an Asian power as a European one.
Yet it seems highly unlikely that the region could turn into an economic engine in the near future. It is thousands of miles from Russia's political and business core, and has less than 5 percent of the country's population. The region's manufacturing and maritime industries have been in steep decline since the Soviet Union's fall, while the area's population has plunged by 25 percent, to six million people from eight million. Still, the government hopes to impress participants at the 2012 summit meeting by holding meetings on Russki Island off the coast of Vladivostok. It is currently reachable only by ferry.
In Soviet times, Vladivostok was closed to foreigners because it was deemed a strategic port, and the island was a secret military facility. Officials intend to build a conference center, hotels and a university campus there.
Already worried about costs, they recently canceled plans for a medical center and a theater for opera and ballet in the city. The government is also renovating Vladivostok's airport, and erecting a smaller bridge between two sections of the city to ease bottlenecks. Improvements will be made to water treatment and other facilities. Yevgeny V. Khokholkov, a vice governor of the region, said federal investment was desperately needed to stem the flow of people abandoning the Far East for the European part of Russia.
Mr. Khokholkov said the bridge to Russki Island and related projects would symbolize the country's commitment to Asia. "The center of development in the world economy is shifting here," he said. "So it is important for Russia to develop this territory as much as we can." Residents of Vladivostok have long complained about neglect from Moscow, but even some supporters of an increased federal role here question the wisdom of the summit meeting master plan. "Without a doubt, it will do some good things for our city," said Alan V. Gutnov, an analyst at the Far Eastern Marine Research, Design and Technology Institute. "But personally, I believe that all that money could be spent more effectively if invested in the economy of the Far East. These projects won't create many jobs in the future." On a visit to Russki Island in February, residents expressed ambivalence about the 2012 meeting, saying that they realized that the region was suffering economically, but that they worried that the projects would destroy the environment. Standing on the deck of a ferry as it chugged through a channel in the ice, Natalya A. Andreyeva, 51, an emergency room doctor, said the island should be turned into a national park. "Visitors seriously pollute the island," Dr. Andreyeva said. "Boatfuls arrive, and after that I personally myself will go and clean the beaches. It's terrible what happens. Why is it worth spending those billions? Good ferries and boats would be enough." As the ferry approached Russki, the landscape changed.
All over the ice, heavily bundled people sat on chairs, holding small fishing rods above small holes in the surface. Some had been there many hours, as if there were no better pastime than staring into the horizon, bracing against the wind and hoping that a fish takes a bite. Among them was Yuri T. Minayenko, 78, a retired driver who moved to Russki Island from Ukraine after the fall of Communism, looking to spend his final years here. "I love the quiet," he said. "If they construct that, there will be more people, more problems, more cars, more commotion and everything else. I don't want that. As an old man, I want silence. That's all."
Two miles worth of steel and cable will connect the mainland to a small island where there is not much besides a few thousand residents, some age-old ice fishing grounds and patches of locally prized curative herbs.
The comparison, of course, is hard to shake: the Kremlin is building its very own Bridge to Nowhere. And not even the financial crisis is putting a stop to it.
The government plans to spend well over $1 billion on the span, which is to be one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, and at least $6 billion on related projects in this thinly populated region, near China and North Korea.
The projects are supposed to spruce up Vladivostok to serve as the host for the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in 2012, and come on top of another $6 billion that the government is allocating for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the southern resort city of Sochi.
The costs for both ventures are likely to soar because of inadequate planning and widespread corruption in Russia, officials acknowledged.
The government is pouring money into the Vladivostok and Sochi events despite acute pressure on the federal budget from the financial crisis and rising concerns about the overall neglect of infrastructure in Russia. Poor quality roads, ports, power plants and other facilities have long been a drag on the Russian economy, as any multinational company that tries to do business in the country can attest. The spending looms large because the government has sharply cut the rest of the infrastructure budget in response to the financial crisis. As a result, the work in Vladivostok and Sochi is drawing criticism that the Kremlin is focusing on trophy projects that might burnish national pride, but will not yield long-term economic benefits.
"Obviously, this spending on Vladivostok and Sochi doesn't make any sense," said Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist for Russia at Nomura International, a securities firm.
"If Russia wants to diversify from the oil and gas sector, the only way to create sustainable growth is to create real infrastructure - such as, for example, doing badly needed repairs to Russia's transport systems, including the dilapidated railway network, and spending on ports and the electricity grid." Before the financial crisis, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin proposed a $1 trillion program to modernize infrastructure, but those plans have been largely shelved, officials said, in favor of spending on social and employment programs, which are aimed at helping to soothe tensions in distressed parts of the country.
Financial analysts estimated that Russia spent roughly $42 billion for infrastructure in 2008, about 13 percent of government spending. This year and next, however, that figure is expected to drop to 5 to 7 percent, they said, and that includes the outlays for Vladivostok and Sochi. The Kremlin is eager to use the Vladivostok meeting in 2012 to demonstrate that Russia is as much an Asian power as a European one.
Yet it seems highly unlikely that the region could turn into an economic engine in the near future. It is thousands of miles from Russia's political and business core, and has less than 5 percent of the country's population. The region's manufacturing and maritime industries have been in steep decline since the Soviet Union's fall, while the area's population has plunged by 25 percent, to six million people from eight million. Still, the government hopes to impress participants at the 2012 summit meeting by holding meetings on Russki Island off the coast of Vladivostok. It is currently reachable only by ferry.
In Soviet times, Vladivostok was closed to foreigners because it was deemed a strategic port, and the island was a secret military facility. Officials intend to build a conference center, hotels and a university campus there.
Already worried about costs, they recently canceled plans for a medical center and a theater for opera and ballet in the city. The government is also renovating Vladivostok's airport, and erecting a smaller bridge between two sections of the city to ease bottlenecks. Improvements will be made to water treatment and other facilities. Yevgeny V. Khokholkov, a vice governor of the region, said federal investment was desperately needed to stem the flow of people abandoning the Far East for the European part of Russia.
Mr. Khokholkov said the bridge to Russki Island and related projects would symbolize the country's commitment to Asia. "The center of development in the world economy is shifting here," he said. "So it is important for Russia to develop this territory as much as we can." Residents of Vladivostok have long complained about neglect from Moscow, but even some supporters of an increased federal role here question the wisdom of the summit meeting master plan. "Without a doubt, it will do some good things for our city," said Alan V. Gutnov, an analyst at the Far Eastern Marine Research, Design and Technology Institute. "But personally, I believe that all that money could be spent more effectively if invested in the economy of the Far East. These projects won't create many jobs in the future." On a visit to Russki Island in February, residents expressed ambivalence about the 2012 meeting, saying that they realized that the region was suffering economically, but that they worried that the projects would destroy the environment. Standing on the deck of a ferry as it chugged through a channel in the ice, Natalya A. Andreyeva, 51, an emergency room doctor, said the island should be turned into a national park. "Visitors seriously pollute the island," Dr. Andreyeva said. "Boatfuls arrive, and after that I personally myself will go and clean the beaches. It's terrible what happens. Why is it worth spending those billions? Good ferries and boats would be enough." As the ferry approached Russki, the landscape changed.
All over the ice, heavily bundled people sat on chairs, holding small fishing rods above small holes in the surface. Some had been there many hours, as if there were no better pastime than staring into the horizon, bracing against the wind and hoping that a fish takes a bite. Among them was Yuri T. Minayenko, 78, a retired driver who moved to Russki Island from Ukraine after the fall of Communism, looking to spend his final years here. "I love the quiet," he said. "If they construct that, there will be more people, more problems, more cars, more commotion and everything else. I don't want that. As an old man, I want silence. That's all."
zondag 5 april 2009
Vendemaire in Vladivostok
VLADIVOSTOK. April 6. VOSTOK-MEDIA – The French frigate ‘Vendemaire’ arrived at the main base of the RF Navy Pacific Fleet. The main aim of the visit is further strengthening of friendship and naval cooperation between the fleets and carrying out of joint Russian-French excercise on communications and joint manoeuvring.
The big submarine chaser ‘Marshal Shaposhnikov’ is the leading vessel of the training exercises.
The chaser is under command of Andrey Kuznetsov, the post captain.
‘It was very pleasant for us to see French sailors at the Russian territory. In August last year our ship ‘Marshal Shaposhnikov’ was also the leading ship and we hosted the same French frigate, participated in exercises’ – said the captain. ‘The French party has positive attitudes towards conducting of the loint Russian-French exercises, because Russian and French vessels will pursue defencive strategies at the Arabia Gulf. They will fight agains piracy.’
The French frigate usually stands guard at New Caledonia. There are 92 crew members on board, including 12 catering officers. And every year this frigate cruises around the Pacific Ocean for three months. Three days ago the French navy was in Japan and after Vladivostok the ship will set sail for South Korea. This is a ship that travells much.
‘Vandemaire’ will stay in Vladivostok for three days. During this period the guests will meet the command of the RF Navy Pacific Fleet, make an official visit to the major of the city and lay wreath to the memorial ‘Military fame of the Pacific Fleet’. They will also participate in sports meetings.
The big submarine chaser ‘Marshal Shaposhnikov’ is the leading vessel of the training exercises.
The chaser is under command of Andrey Kuznetsov, the post captain.
‘It was very pleasant for us to see French sailors at the Russian territory. In August last year our ship ‘Marshal Shaposhnikov’ was also the leading ship and we hosted the same French frigate, participated in exercises’ – said the captain. ‘The French party has positive attitudes towards conducting of the loint Russian-French exercises, because Russian and French vessels will pursue defencive strategies at the Arabia Gulf. They will fight agains piracy.’
The French frigate usually stands guard at New Caledonia. There are 92 crew members on board, including 12 catering officers. And every year this frigate cruises around the Pacific Ocean for three months. Three days ago the French navy was in Japan and after Vladivostok the ship will set sail for South Korea. This is a ship that travells much.
‘Vandemaire’ will stay in Vladivostok for three days. During this period the guests will meet the command of the RF Navy Pacific Fleet, make an official visit to the major of the city and lay wreath to the memorial ‘Military fame of the Pacific Fleet’. They will also participate in sports meetings.
vrijdag 3 april 2009
Humor in Vladivostok
A juicy scandal broke in Vladivostok because of All-Fools’ Day joke.
On April the first a popular local news agency had published the comic article that led to losses of one of the key companies of the city – ‘Vodokanal’.
It was stated in the article that there would be mass cold water outages because of severe economical situation. The point was that cold water would be cut during the hours of darkness because of bad economic situation. And the agency advised people to lay in a supply of water.
Moreover, the news was not at first marked by smile or anything that would indicate it as a joke.
And only when scandal started to gain pace, the authors of the article added a note about All-Fools’ Day joke.
Meanwhile, other news agencies picked up the news and started spread it around the city. It caused the panic.
So, people started to lay in a supply of water, and the water consumption increased dramatically. The company managed to avoid major losses of water thanks to timely taken measures.
Excess consumption accounted for 3 thousand cubic meters.
The aftermath could have been much worse. According to the chief operating officer, at the present time the legal department of the company is considering the issue as to prosecution the media agency.
On April the first a popular local news agency had published the comic article that led to losses of one of the key companies of the city – ‘Vodokanal’.
It was stated in the article that there would be mass cold water outages because of severe economical situation. The point was that cold water would be cut during the hours of darkness because of bad economic situation. And the agency advised people to lay in a supply of water.
Moreover, the news was not at first marked by smile or anything that would indicate it as a joke.
And only when scandal started to gain pace, the authors of the article added a note about All-Fools’ Day joke.
Meanwhile, other news agencies picked up the news and started spread it around the city. It caused the panic.
So, people started to lay in a supply of water, and the water consumption increased dramatically. The company managed to avoid major losses of water thanks to timely taken measures.
Excess consumption accounted for 3 thousand cubic meters.
The aftermath could have been much worse. According to the chief operating officer, at the present time the legal department of the company is considering the issue as to prosecution the media agency.
maandag 22 december 2008
Riots in Russia - Government raising tariffs on imported automobiles
Riots in Russia
Small demonstrations occurred in several Russian cities over the weekend in reaction to the government’s plan to raise tariffs on imported automobiles, and the riot police broke up one protest on Sunday in Vladivostok in the country’s far east, briefly detaining scores of people, news agencies reported.
While the demonstrations each drew only a few hundred people, they were perhaps the most visible evidence of discontent with the government over the financial crisis. When the price of oil was high and Russia’s economy was soaring, the government was broadly popular, but the recent downturn has caused growing public anxiety as unemployment has spiked and the value of the ruble has dropped.
In an apparent sign of the Kremlin’s concern over the tariff issue, it sent special riot police units to quell the protest in Vladivostok, according to witnesses quoted by news agencies. Other demonstrations over the tariffs have occurred there this month.
Amateur video posted online by people who said they were at Sunday’s demonstration in Vladivostok shows riot police officers dragging protesters into vans. The authorities said they broke up the demonstration because its sponsors had not received official permission to hold it.
A reporter for The Associated Press in Vladivostok said that police officers had beaten several people with truncheons, thrown them to the ground and kicked them. Several journalists were arrested.
Vladimir Litvinov, who leads a local rights group, told The Associated Press that officers behaved “like beasts” and should not have ended the gathering because it was peaceful and not political.
“We support a civilized resolution to all the problems, but when they send Moscow riot police to break up a gathering in our city, and they start breaking arms and legs and heads,” he said, adding: “People are very, very angry. It’s hard to predict what might happen now.”
Vladivostok, Russia’s largest port on the Pacific, is a major point for importing foreign cars into Russia. The government announced the tariffs on imported cars in an effort to protect the beleaguered domestic car industry.
The Federation of Russian Car Owners, a grass-roots advocacy group, has helped sponsor the protests, under the slogan, “Authorities: Raise the Standard of Living, not the Tariff.”
Small demonstrations occurred in several Russian cities over the weekend in reaction to the government’s plan to raise tariffs on imported automobiles, and the riot police broke up one protest on Sunday in Vladivostok in the country’s far east, briefly detaining scores of people, news agencies reported.
While the demonstrations each drew only a few hundred people, they were perhaps the most visible evidence of discontent with the government over the financial crisis. When the price of oil was high and Russia’s economy was soaring, the government was broadly popular, but the recent downturn has caused growing public anxiety as unemployment has spiked and the value of the ruble has dropped.
In an apparent sign of the Kremlin’s concern over the tariff issue, it sent special riot police units to quell the protest in Vladivostok, according to witnesses quoted by news agencies. Other demonstrations over the tariffs have occurred there this month.
Amateur video posted online by people who said they were at Sunday’s demonstration in Vladivostok shows riot police officers dragging protesters into vans. The authorities said they broke up the demonstration because its sponsors had not received official permission to hold it.
A reporter for The Associated Press in Vladivostok said that police officers had beaten several people with truncheons, thrown them to the ground and kicked them. Several journalists were arrested.
Vladimir Litvinov, who leads a local rights group, told The Associated Press that officers behaved “like beasts” and should not have ended the gathering because it was peaceful and not political.
“We support a civilized resolution to all the problems, but when they send Moscow riot police to break up a gathering in our city, and they start breaking arms and legs and heads,” he said, adding: “People are very, very angry. It’s hard to predict what might happen now.”
Vladivostok, Russia’s largest port on the Pacific, is a major point for importing foreign cars into Russia. The government announced the tariffs on imported cars in an effort to protect the beleaguered domestic car industry.
The Federation of Russian Car Owners, a grass-roots advocacy group, has helped sponsor the protests, under the slogan, “Authorities: Raise the Standard of Living, not the Tariff.”
maandag 17 november 2008
Rabbi mugged in Vladivostok
The chief rabbi of Vladivostok was beaten and robbed near his home.
Isroel Zilbershtein, an American citizen and Chabad rabbi, was walking home Nov. 13 in Vladivostok when a man hit him in the head three times. The rabbi was knocked unconscious and found when he awoke that his laptop had been stolen.
Police in Vladivostok, Russia’s main port city on the Pacific Ocean, have opened a criminal case.
The rabbi said he did not think the attack was related to anti-Semitism, only that the attacker wanted his laptop computer.
After the attack, Zilbershtein made his way home and called an ambulance. He was taken to a hospital and treated for a broken nose and other injuries.
The next day he left Vladivostok for Moscow and then on to Paris, according to Jewish.ru
Isroel Zilbershtein, an American citizen and Chabad rabbi, was walking home Nov. 13 in Vladivostok when a man hit him in the head three times. The rabbi was knocked unconscious and found when he awoke that his laptop had been stolen.
Police in Vladivostok, Russia’s main port city on the Pacific Ocean, have opened a criminal case.
The rabbi said he did not think the attack was related to anti-Semitism, only that the attacker wanted his laptop computer.
After the attack, Zilbershtein made his way home and called an ambulance. He was taken to a hospital and treated for a broken nose and other injuries.
The next day he left Vladivostok for Moscow and then on to Paris, according to Jewish.ru
zaterdag 15 november 2008
Russian military prosecutor attacked
Unidentified assailants attacked the military prosecutor of the Vladivostok garrison Oleg Demin. The incident occurred on Monday evening.
Demin was rushed to a resuscitation ward with a heavy cranial injury, regional police chief Andrei Nikolayev said on Wednesday.
The military prosecutor was attacked in the entrance to the apartment house where he lives. Investigators are considering two versions: professional activity or robbery. The latter is given less credence because no personal items have been stolen.
Oleg Demin is a well-known figure in the city. He investigated criminal cases against Pacific Navy officers, over procurement schemes and dumping of oil by warships into the sea.
Demin was rushed to a resuscitation ward with a heavy cranial injury, regional police chief Andrei Nikolayev said on Wednesday.
The military prosecutor was attacked in the entrance to the apartment house where he lives. Investigators are considering two versions: professional activity or robbery. The latter is given less credence because no personal items have been stolen.
Oleg Demin is a well-known figure in the city. He investigated criminal cases against Pacific Navy officers, over procurement schemes and dumping of oil by warships into the sea.
Submarine accidents in Russia - an overview
A recent deadly accident aboard a Russian submarine has fuelled complaints about the poor state of the country's military.
Submarine's name: K-152 Nerpa
Akula Class
Type: Nuclear-powered attack submarine
Crew: 208
Speed: 20 knots (surfaced): 35 knots (submerged)
Diving Depth: 600 m
The Nerpa was on sea trials when the accident occurred. A fire extinguishing system went off accidentally, releasing freon gas that removes oxygen from the air. Seventeen civilian contractors and three sailors died of suffocation.
SELECTED RUSSIAN SUBMARINE ACCIDENTS
-Sept. 6, 2006: Two died after fire in Viktor-ill class Daniil Moskovsky
-Aug. 28, 2003: Nine die after November class K-159 sinks
-Aug. 12, 2000: 118 die in sinking of Oscar-II class Kursk
-Apr. 7, 1989: 42 die after fire in Soviet-era Komsomolets
-October 6, 1986: Four die in fire on K-219 Yankee I Class submarine
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