On the 16th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster a protest action against importing nuclear waste into Russia is being held in more than 50 Russian regions. The action was organised by the Russian Democratic Party YABLOKO, different environmental and human rights organisations.

The residents of Maritime Territory paid tribute to the victims of the Chernobyl disaster and expressed their protest against the import of spent nuclear fuel into Russia. The residents of cities - Vladivostok, Artyom and Bolshoi Kamen - participated in the action.

On April 24, 2002, the Mayor of Vladivostok Yuri Kopylov refused to issue authorisation for pickets under the pretext that this problem was not urgent for Vladivostok. However, the action did go ahead. At the square by the railroad station, in the Far East State University, the Minny Gorodok Park, Sukhanov park and in the central street of the city YABLOKO activists, students, ecologists, deputies of the regional and the city duma and university teachers distributed newspapers, leaflets and stickers. In particular, the leaflets (a million were published) titled ;Official Notification ; stated that, owing to the laws adopted in 2001, ;targeted at rendering financial support to the Ministry of Atomic Energy ;, the citizens of Russia, as well as their family members ;are participating in an experiment for survival based on the increased risk of radiation. ;

;We don’t need another Chernobyl: ; this was the slogan of the meetings in the Amur region (Blagoveschensk and Svobodnii cities) against the imports of spent nuclear fuel into Russia. The participants of two pickets in Blagoveschensk and one picket in Svobodnii distributed about 7,000 leaflets on the topic. The action of the YABLOKO party was supported by environmental and public organisations of the region, such as the Amur Socio-Ecological Union, the Amur Ecological Club ‘Ulukitkan ;, the Public Amur-Zeleisky Ecological Association, women’s organisation of Svobodnii city and those who worked to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

The meeting in Blagoveschensk by the building of the representation of the federal inspector on the Amur Region gathered together public organisaitons of the city and the residents of this regional centre (about 200 people). The participants of the meeting adopted addresses to the Head of the Administration of Amur Region and deputies of the regional Council.

The address, signed by 4,000 people, was handed to YABLOKO’s deputy of the regional legislative assembly, Chairman of the Legislation Commission Sergei Stepanov, who will initiate the adoption of a law to prohibit transportation and burial of nuclear waste on the territory of Amur region.

On April 27, 2002, a large meeting in Svobodnii will take place. The results of a contest of children’s posters and essays will also take place within the framework of the action. In Blagoveschensk the results of the contest will be released in early May.

Irkutsk region had 15 YABLOKO pickets in the following cities: Angarsk, Usolye-Sibirskoye and Irkutsk. Together with YABLOKO activists such public organisaiotns as the Baikal Ecological Wave and Renaissance of Siberia participated in the action. A meeting was held in the centre of Irkutsk, where an address to the governor with a demand to prohibit transportation of nuclear waste across the territory of the region was adopted.

In Tomsk the slogan of the action was: ;Trans-Siberian Rail Road without Nuclear Waste ;, ;No Nuclear Waste Allowed at Trans-Siberian Rail Road ;. Six pickets in the regional centre distributed about 15,000 newspapers and leaflets explaining the potential threat of the implementation of the projects of the Ministry of Atomic Energy.

YABLOKO activists, together with the students of the Tomsk Ecological Inspection, also held a meeting and a show ;No to OYaT ; ( ;OYaT ; is a Russian acronym for spent nuclear fuel).

A large bell serving as a reminder of the irreversible consequences of the implementation of such projects was brought to the local administration building. The policemen were very correct with the participants of the action and accompanied them to the place of the action.

The column of the participants of the action in gas masks was headed by deputies of the Tomsk City Duma.

In Omsk eleven pickets were organised jointly with the Omsk department of the Socio-Ecological Union of Russia and the Children and Youth Ecological Centre, where the activists distributed about 54,000 newspapers and leaflet. On the threashold of the action, on April 24-25, 1.5 thousand posters were stuck up in the city.

The Novosibirsk department of YABLOKO, jointly with such public organisations as the Scientists of Siberia for Global Responsibility and the Youth Ecological Union of Novosibirsk, held 14 pickets. A meeting and a demonstration were held in the centre of the city.

In Chelyabinsk region an action was held in Miass, Zlatoust, Magnitogorsk, Kopeisk and Chelyabinsk – 18 pickets in total. The action resulted in the adoption of a joint address of public organisations to the Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Pyotr Sumin and deputies of the regional Legislative Assembly with a call to adopt a regional law prohibiting the transportation, recycling and storage of imported spent nuclear fuel in Chelyabinsk Region. The address stated: ;We call on you to demonstrate your political will and civil courage for the sake of the future of our children, for the future of Russia ;.

In Cheboksari, Chuvash Republic, the participants of the action laid flowers to the monument of the victims of Chernobyl. Six pickets were held in Cheboksary and Novocherkassk . In the capital of Chuvashia a meeting was held with the participation of the local branch of YABLOKO, deputies of the city council and members of the Youth ecological brigade. A show-burial of nuclear waste was performed.

In Samara region 22 pickets were held: 12 in Samara, 2 in Syzran, 7 in Tolytty and one in Novokuibyshevsk. The participants of the pickets collected signatures for an address to the President and the Government of Russia. The older generation, noted YABLOKO’s activists, was most concerned by the problem of nuclear safety in the country.

14 pickets were organised in Nizhni Novgorod, three in Dzershinsk and one in Arzamas. In addition to YABLOKO the action was supported by the eco-centre DRONT, a human rights association and the regional organsation for defence of human rights. A demonstration will take place in the central street of Nizhni Novgorod. Then the participants will read out in the centre of the city in front of the building of regional administration an address to the Governor and the regional parliament demanding the adoption of a regional law prohibiting imports on nuclear waste into the region.

In Ulyanovsk the action to commemorate the vicitms of Chernobyl was held by the regional branch of YABLOKO, the Ulyanovsk branch of the All-Russia Public Organisation of the Handicapped ;Chernobylets ;, the Ulyanovsk regional branch of the All-Russia Public Organisation of the Handicapped ;The Chernobyl of Russia Union ;, Dmitrovgrad Public Organisation ;Centre for Support of Public Initiatives ;, and Ulyanovsk Youth Public Organisaiotn ;The Yezh Eclolgical Union ;. A meeting in Ulyanovsk gathered about 200 people. The participants also adopted a joint address to the Governor and the regional legislative assembly demanding the adoption of a regional law prohibiting imports on nuclear waste into the region.

In Smolensk YABLOKO held four pickets and then a requiem to commemorate those who died after working to eliminate the disaster in the Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk.

Eight pickets were held in Yaroslavl region (Yaroslavl, Rybinsk, Tugayev). Public organisations adopted a joint address to the Governor and the regional legislative assembly demanding the adoption of a regional law prohibiting imports on nuclear waste into the region.

The Tula regional department of Russian Democratic Party Yabloko, together with regional public organization the Tula society of consumers, the Tula regional public environmentall organization for survival, city public organization the Tula remedial centre held an action "No to a nuclear dump in Russia". Five pickets were placed in Tula and one in Novomoskovsk. During the work of the pickets, signatures were collected to an address to the governor and the deputies of the regional duma for passing the regional law prohibiting the transport, processing and storage of spent fuel in the region. The address was handed over to the Tula Regional Governor Vasily Starodubtsev.

In St. Petersburg 48 pickets were posted. In Primorye flowers were laid to the monument at the alley of the Chernobyl citizens. The members of party YABLOKO and Youth Union Yabloko planted several dozens of apple-trees in the area, where the families of those who eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident live.

The Moscow Region branch of YABLOKO, together with the regional branch of the Organisation of the Handicapped ;The Chernobyl of Russia Union;, held an action against nuclear waste imports in several towns (Dzerzhinsk, Podolsk, Reutov) under the slogan "The half-value period of memory is shorter than the isotopes' half-value period".

Nine pickets were organised in Voronezh, where 45,000 newspapers and leaflets were distributed. The members of the All-Russian Society of Environmental Protection, the Voronezh centre for environmental policy, the regional ecological organization Sad, the Union of Right-Wing Forces, the Republican Party took part in the action. A "round-table" discussion was held, in which the city administration's workers took part.

In the Krasnodar region actions were held in Krasnodar, Sochi, Slavyansk-on-Kuban, Armavir, Kropotkin, Anapa, Novorossiysk, Tikhoretsk with the participation of environmental organizations Ecomir and Ecological ambulance.

In the Rostov region pickets were held in Rostov-Don, Taganrog, Novosherkassk, Shakhti, Belaya Kalitaa and Millerovo. Public opinion polls were held during pickets.

Yabloko and Union Chernobyl held four meetings and pickets in Kaliningrad and one in Baltiysk. The action was also held in the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Penza, Kaluga, Tver, Yaroslavl, Ryazan, and Stavropol regions.

More information to come.

See also:

YABLOKO Against Nuclear Waste Imports