vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #162 / Special reports / Reading article...

Want your mail? Check out a stalled train

A dispute between two federal ministries has left 250 train employees and 120 mail cars sitting in Vladivostok’s railway sidings for four weeks. The Railway Ministry ordered the Far Eastern railway, owned by the Ministry of Communications, to stop sending mail cars to the west of the country Feb. 2. Conductors attending the cars are starving, and don’t have access to water or utilities.

Court sentences navy officer in loan case

The Nakhodka Garrison Martial Court recently sentenced a Northern Fleet first deputy commander to a four-year suspended prison term but then granted him amnesty. The court said that Commander Vyacheslav Kharnikov took a 352 million ruble ($58,000) Navy loan to build a house in Sochi and never disclosed that he owned three apartments around Russia. Over the course of the trial Kharnikov, returned the loan.

Chernomyrdin approves new sailor passports

Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin recently approved new sailors’ passports provisions that increase sailors’ independence from fishing and shipping companies. For example, seamen now are not required to exchange their civilian passports for a sailor’s one, a stipulation which ship owners used to keep seamen on their jobs. The sailors’ trade union had been working to achieve the provision since 1994.

Fleet ranks include nearly 5,000 women

The Pacific Fleet has 5,000 women in its ranks including four lieutenant colonels, 14 majors and 36 captains, Novosti announced recently. This is 4.6 percent of all enlisted women in Russia.

Newspaperman wins libel suit against Primorye

Vladivostok newspaper Editor-in-Chief Valery Bakshin won a libel suit against the Primorye newspaper after it accused him and two of his employees of plagiarism. The Primorye now must publish a retraction and pay him an award of 5,000 new rubles, but the paper can still appeal the decision. Bakshin said if he sees the money he would transfer it to the city children’s hospital.

Former FESCO boss named to cabinet

Sergei Frank, former deputy director of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, was appointed transportation minister, taking the place of fellow Primorian Nikolai Tsakh. Tsakh was fired by President Yeltsin during a late February cabinet reshuffle.

Don’t hang up: You won’t be charged per minute

Primorsky Krai Vice Gov. Igor Belchuk recently announced that phones will not be billed by the minute, an idea proposed by phone company Electrosvyaz. Belchuk said that introducing a per-minute system only in Vladivostok would not be fair and Electrosvyaz is not prepared to launch the system in the entire krai. Phone rates will instead rise gradually.

Duma orders investigation of Food Charitable Fund

The Krai Duma voted Feb 26 to create a commission to investigate a pyramid scheme backed by the krai government that failed late last year. Deputy Igor Krutykh said the Duma was obligated to investigate Primorye Food Charitable Fund’s collapse because a police inquiry into the matter was inadequate. Thousands of Primorye residents lost 15 billion old rubles ($2.5 million) when the scheme collapsed in October, 1997. The Duma’s commission will have official access to all confidential files, and will review its findings in April.