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www.cncp.ru/eng/eng.shtml UK-Russia closed
DISTRIBUTED WITH THE DAILY TELEGRAPH TUESDAY_SEPTEMBER 29_2009 nuclear cities partnership (CNCP)
Opening up the cities of well-kept secrets
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Sergey Markov, a Duma depu-
ty, says. “As long as Russia re-
Closed cities remained a dark mains the target of aggression,
secret for most Russians: only we will need to test our rockets
now, as the government tries to and keep the tests behind the
reckon with their future, are we wall to provide secrecy.”
learning about them. Not everyone is happy in exile:
For decades, the people of these most of Znamensk’s graduates
cities lived in a kind of prestig- prefer to leave. “We live here
ious internal exile: they had for- under a magnifying glass –
eign food, special privileges and every step to the left or right is
better schools. Now, some 10 noticed and discussed. My
years after they began their friends and I plan to move to
economic and social slide, many Moscow right after graduation.
inhabitants of the beleaguered At least I will see people from
strategic military centres still other countries there,” says Olga
want to live in exile, especially Sibiyato, an 11th-grader at
since the government started High School No 235.
pumping in oil money – in the A year ago, a few American
case of Znamensk, to the tune and German specialists stayed
of $25m per annum. in Znamensk for a month. They
In Soviet times, all sorts of came to launch six small satel-
tricks were used to hide the cit- lites from the Voskhod space-
ies in plain daylight; today the rocket complex. A few Egyp-
“post boxes” – so called for the tian, Brazilian and some “Arab”
addresses residents used to re- clients (officials prefer not to
ceive mail – are in epic transi- MIKHAIL GALUSTOV identify from which country)
tion. Znamensk residents make Checkpoint at the entrance to the closed city of Znamensk in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region. Few foreigners have been to such cities came last month to see the test
holes in the wall for a shortcut of a new missile, the Tor-M2E.
to their dachas, but the porous And that was basically all for-
borders have brought new re- try – missiles and missile test- Union fell apart, the govern- ed the construction of a modern evitable that most of these cit- eign visitors in the past year.
alities well known to the rest of ing on a moonscape of steppe ment stopped almost entirely water filtering system for the ies will open up,” says Alexan- As the sun sinks in the sky, sol-
the country. Recently, local kids about 20 miles from the town the fi nancing of Kapustin Yar, city. Mikhail Avrashuk’s prop- der Golts, an independent mil- diers and officers line up for
started taking their fi ghts out- centre.“The w all is not to make and more than 40 other closed erty company renovates the itary analyst. Such programmes their evening march. The songs
side the wall: when one person us close-minded, or isolated, cities. In despair, dozens of of- abandoned apartments and as the US Cooperative Threat they sing,“Katyusha” and “The
died and several were wounded, but to provide us with a special fi cers’ families fl ed, abandoning sells them. Reduction Programme and the Soldier Is Walking in the City”,
officials became concerned status,” says mayor Victor Likh. their apartments, which fell An association of politicians British Closed Nuclear Cities drift over the town and signal
about the holes and put doors “Since Kapustin Yar is the into disrepair. Privatisation was and officials regularly meets in Partnership are helping Russia the day is coming to its end.
in some of them. To obtain an country’s major range for test- not allowed. “Ten years ago, I Moscow to decide which cities and the West to open some of Aleksei Prudnikov is the com-
entry permit, visitors must be ing ballistic missiles and anti- could not even dream of regis- will remain closed and which the doors and reduce secrecy. mander of the anti-terror unit at
invited by a friend or relative; aircraft systems, the govern- tering a company,” says Alexan- will eventually be opened. But it is clear that Russia will Znamensk military range. “We
foreigners and journalists, if al- ment is paying 80pc of the city der Volchkov, the owner of the There are currently 45 closed always have a few closed cities are rocket specialists, the elite of
lowed to visit, are accompanied budget, which is now 1bn rou- biggest construction company cities: it has been decided to left – and Znamensk might be the Russian army,” he says.
by guards wherever they go. bles – the biggest budget for a in Znamensk. In the last four open six of them. “With the one of them. “Thousand of missiles have gone
The process of modernisation is population of 33,000 in the en- years, Volchkov’s company has military reform transforming “Under constant threat of ter- through our hands… If not us,
still nascent. The economy of tire Russian south.” built three multiple-storey the Russian army and the mar- rorism, the world will be mov- then who is going to keep Russia
the city depends on one indus- However, when the Soviet buildings and almost complet- ket economy booming, it is in- ing towards deeper secrecy,” safe?”
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Q&A We asked a Greenpeace campaigner how Russia fares in the debate on genetic modification
Genetically modified food: something to worry about?
OLGA SENINA
out the European Union. More- spection carried out by Green- Food standards legislation, an- and had to defend its GM poli- that consumers can still protect
RUSSIA NOW over, most EU countries allow peace in the Moscow region ti-GM campaigns and public cy to Greenpeace in order to themselves against GM food by
the production of transgenic showed that only 0.4pc of food opinion all have roles to play in make it onto the list of products checking where the products
What is the situation regarding maize. products tested positive for this situation. Agricultural certifi ed as GM-free. came from, and by analysing
genetically modified (GM) stand- Though 16 types of GM food GM, with levels varying from producers understand that, Meanwhile, the system assess- the GM policy of the country of
ards in Russia’s food industry? products are allowed in Russia 0.1 to 0.5pc. These fi gures are while GM food is cheaper to ing GM levels in products im- origin and the producer.
Growing genetically modifi ed – eight types of maize, six types also confirmed by statistical produce, getting caught could ported into Russia is basically If all this proves too complicat-
plants is banned in Russia, says of potato, one type of rice and data from the Federal Service be far costlier. Indeed, Mos- fl awed, as it only checks a lim- ed, consumers can opt to pay
Natalya Olefirenko, a co-ordina- one variant of sugar beet – GM on Surveillance of Consumer cow’s Bakery Plant No 22, ited range of GM products. more for GM-free products
tor of Greenpeace’s GM cam- levels remain low. Rights Protection and Human which sued Greenpeace five Olefi renko warns that though available in special shops.
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paign.The national food market Under Russian law, if the GM Wellbeing, and epidemiologi- years ago for putting its prod- the system is workable for po-
could be seen as a “GM-free percentage in a product is less cal centres. ucts on the organisation’s tatoes and maize, due to fi nan-
zone”, the only exception being than 0.9pc, the producer is en- Recent research suggests a blacklist of GM food products, cial constraints it is not able to We welcome your questions:
the GM soy used for fodder in titled to mark it as a GM-free scant 1-2pc of products sold estimated lost profit at 1.5m test tomatoes, squash or ap- editor.uk@rg.ru
the cattle-breeding industry, a product. into Russia’s food market con- roubles. ples.
practice widely used through- According to Olefi renko, an in- tain GM. The plant lost the court battle Nevertheless, she maintains Find more answers on
www.rbth.ru
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