Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09VLADIVOSTOK21
2009-02-13 07:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Vladivostok
Cable title:  

DCM FAR EAST VISIT COMES AMIDST TURMOIL AND PROMISE

Tags:  PGOV ECON SENV RS 
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DE RUEHVK #0021/01 0440718
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130718Z FEB 09
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1085
INFO RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION COLLECTIVE
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1187
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VLADIVOSTOK 000021 

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON SENV RS
SUBJECT: DCM FAR EAST VISIT COMES AMIDST TURMOIL AND PROMISE

VLADIVOSTO 00000021 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VLADIVOSTOK 000021

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON SENV RS
SUBJECT: DCM FAR EAST VISIT COMES AMIDST TURMOIL AND PROMISE

VLADIVOSTO 00000021 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) DCM Eric Rubin's February 2-6 visit to the Russian Far
East came at a time of economic turbulence and discontent, but
also high hopes that the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Summit will lift the region's fortunes when it is held in
Vladivostok in 2012. The DCM visit was a chance to engage on
health and environmental issues, the new American President,
youth issues, trafficking in persons, US-Russian relations and
Russian relations with China and other Asian neighbors.

TIGER ON THE LOOSE
--------------


2. (U) The first official meeting was with Vladivostok City
Duma Deputy Nikolay Markovtsev who said that recent
demonstrations organized by the new group "TIGER" signal a
growing disenchantment from businesspeople, aged 30 to 40, who
had previously been loyal to the government. This is a
"dangerous" development he said because, unlike the pensioners
who largely support the communists, TIGER supporters are
productive middle class citizens who "have something to lose."
Markovtsev noted that TIGER is not yet officially registered and
does not have an identifiable leader, but the group represents
an important segment of the population and they have the
authorities "genuinely worried."

APEC OPTIMISM
--------------


3. (U) Igor Uleiskiy, Primorye Vice Governor, ignored the
recent protests and concentrated on APEC projects in his
February 3 meeting with the DCM. Uleiskiy said that the Kremlin
pledged an additional 75 billion rubles for APEC projects in

2009. This equals the current annual Primorye budget. Planned
projects include a 100 million dollar airport renovation,
bridges, roads, a conference-center, a media center, hotels, a
water treatment plant, an Opera house, a new health center, and
a hockey arena. The conference center, media center, hotels and
a new pier will be built on Russkiy Island, and the remaining
projects will be located on the mainland. These include the
renovated international airport with new modern runways and a
new highway to the island from the airport.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS LOOK GOOD -- ARE THEY REAL?
-------------- --


4. (U) Uleiskiy said the region enjoyed six per cent growth in
2008 and that the situation in Primorye is better compared to

other regions. Average wages increased 20 per cent in Primorye
last year. Over the first nine months in 2008, USD 800 million
of foreign investment came from 17 countries. This is 25 times
more than the same period in 2007. Though official statistics
look promising, other contacts told us that Primorskiy
"statistics" are not reliable and the investment climate in
Primorye remains tricky due to a history of foreign investors
being forced out by Russian partners once an enterprise begins
to make money.


5. (U) American exporters have done well in the Far East, with
American fruits and meats seen in most shops, but the import of
heavy equipment, including Caterpillar and John Deere, may be
increasingly difficult due to new import tariffs and the end of
government subsidies for the purchase of foreign equipment.
Uleiskiy noted that American and Russian fishing firms were
cooperating more actively and he expected a significant American
presence at this September's Fishing Congress in Vladivostok.

CHINESE "TAKEOVER" OVERBLOWN
--------------


6. (U) The DCM stopped at the Vladivostok Veteran's Home, a
good Consulate partner. The Home hosts American sailors when
they are in port and is providing space for the first-ever
Women's Shelter in the Far East that will open later this month.
The DCM also met with Asian experts who said they see China as
the main partner for the RFE in the future. Local experts
believe Moscow concerns about a Chinese "takeover" of the Far
East are overblown and quotas on North Korean and Chinese labor
migrants only hinder development. The US could play a stronger
role in trade, they say, if there were direct flights between
the Far East and American West Coast.


7. (U) With a new American President, the DCM's views on the
future of US-Russian relations were a major topic at the
meetings with US program alumni (FLEX, Muskie, etc.) and the
press. The DCM met students at American Councils in Vladivostok
and spoke at universities in Birobidjan, Khabarovsk and
Vladivostok. Students in Vladivostok were familiar with
American exchange programs, but in Birobidjan even the summer
work and travel program was not well known.

USAID MAKES A DIFFERENCE
--------------

VLADIVOSTO 00000021 002.2 OF 002




8. (U) In Khabarovsk, the DCM and USAID delegation met with
Alexander Borisovich Levintal, Deputy Chair of the Krai
Government. Mr. Levintal thanked the US delegation for 15 years
of USAID support. The "Amur Initiative" USAID project is
allowing thousands of residents of area villages that were
forced to use toxic river water access to clear, filtered
drinking water. Residents of Khabarovsk rely on the Amur for
much of their water. The Initiative responds to the request of
the Administration of Khabarovsk Kray to deal with the
consequences of a large chemical spill in Tzylin, China that
occurred in November 2005. Wastewater treatment stations in the
Tzylin area operate far below minimum acceptable standards,
resulting in significant pollution downstream in the Amur River.
In addition to the Chinese, over five million Russians are
ultimately affected by this environmental pollution. The
ongoing pollution and frequent unreported spills in both Russia
and China continue to affect citizens in both countries. The
Kray administration has assigned priority to developing systems
and procedures to analyze and monitor water quality in the Amur
River and to establish alternative sources of clean water. The
Amur River Initiative consists of monitoring water quality,
providing alternative water supplies in the four settlements
that suffered from Tzylin spill and strengthening a
Khabarovsk-Oregon Partnership to address the Amur River issues.
Levintal expressed his special appreciation to the US delegation
for committing to a USD 100,000 phase two of the Amur
Initiative. The DCM walked on to the frozen Amur River and took
a sample of the water that turned out to show heavy metals and
other contaminants in the field lab tests.


9. (U) DCM and team later took a tour of the small village of
Osinovaya Rechka where USAID ultraviolet disinfectant devices
were bringing down the levels of harmful bacteria below
detectable levels. The project benefits local residents, a
school, medical center, and kindergarten.


10. (U) Tuberculosis (TB) is another threat to public health
addressed by USAID in Khabarovsk. The DCM and USAID delegation
met with Oleg Leonidovich Karpenko, Chief Tuberculosis (TB)
Officer of the Far East Federal District. Karpenko led the US
delegation through the laboratory that the US helped to fund and
explained that the facility also serves as a regional training
site providing technical, managerial and material support to
other TB facilities in more remote regions. The delegation did
not know whether the doctor was kidding when he said that
despite the high tech ventilation system and the respirators
that we and the technicians were wearing, someone gets sick
every year amongst the staff of the laboratory. Our tour was
short!


11. (U) The goal of USAID support is to reduce TB
transmission, mortality, and morbidity and prevent the
development of drug resistance. The Ministry of Health of the
Kray has since issued a number of executive orders to further
facilitate implementation of the program. One of the major
outcomes of the USAID-funded TB program was allocation of 100
million rubles by the Ministry of Health in 2008 to support TB
programs following USAID's 12 million ruble award for the model
project.


12. (U) Comment: The economic crisis is beginning to take hold
in the region, and several large companies have laid off
significant numbers of workers. However, Vladivostok is set to
become the host city for the 2012 APEC Summit, an event that
could be the catalyst for much-needed infrastructure
improvements and potentially spur foreign investment in the
area. There are other positive signs on the horizon with
regional airlines planning to increase their foreign routes,
including expanding from seasonal service to year-round flights
to Alaska and the U.S. Pacific coast. A regional shipping
company has established a sea direct route to the port of Tacoma
and leaders in Vladivostok have expressed hope that further US
Navy ship visits will return, bringing more US-Russian
interaction to a region that is as far from Moscow as New York
is.
ARMBRUSTER