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Saturday, April 28, 2001
Friday, April 27, 2001
No. 009 Primorye Election Update: April 27, 2001 And the Winners Are...
No. 009
U.S.
Consulate General, Vladivostok
April 27,
2001
Primorye Election Update: April 27, 2001
And the Winners Are...
With the expiration of the April 26 deadline, the Primorye Election Commission has announced that 14 of 34 candidates have qualified to be included on the May 27 ballot. The lucky "winners" are listed below in the order in which they qualified, with the favorites highlighted in bold:
1) Vladimir
Grishukov (1956), State Duma deputy, leader of Primorye communists
2) Viktor Cherepkov (1942), well-known
State Duma Deputy representing Primorye, ex-mayor of Vladivostok who was
deposed by Nazdratenko and his allies
3) Vladimir
Omsharuk (1950), retired colonel
4) Aleksandr Kirilichev (1950), Primorye
Shipping Company General Director, Primorye Duma deputy
5) Gennadiy Apanasenko (1950), First
Deputy of Polpred Pulikovskiy (rumored to be THE ONE who is supported by the
federal government)
6) Sergey Popov
(1958), General Director of a regional metal processing center
7) Vladimir
Gilgenberg (1955), Primorye Duma Deputy, General Director of LLC “Korporatsiya
Dalyokaya Okraina”
8) Igor
Kasatonov (1939), a well-known admiral in Primorye
9) Tatyana
Loktionova (1951), ex-chairman of the Primorye Court of Arbitration
10) Sergey Dar’kin (1963), General Manager
of the JSC “Roliz” (he sells lots of SUVs, among other things).
11) Igor’
Cherevkov (1966), Chief Editor of the “Dalnevostochnaya Respublika” (Far
Eastern Republic) newspaper
12) Sergey Zhekov
(1957), Chairman of the Primorye Duma, member of the Federation Council
13) Valentin Dubinin (1946), Acting
Governor of Primorye -- the favorite
14) Yuriy
Rybalkin (1948), Primorye Duma Deputy
Much to the relief of the real Gennadiy
Apanasenko, none of the fake
Apanasenkos from St. Petersburg made it onto the ballot. Political observers
here predict that no one will win the election outright in the first round. To
do this a candidate would need to get more than 35% of the votes (with a
minimum of 25% of the electorate participating). In the unlikely event that more than one
person tops the 35% barrier, the one with the most votes will win
outright. If no one gets more than 35%,
the top two candidates will have two weeks to prepare for a runoff election.
The candidate with the most votes in the runoff will then take the
gubernatorial prize. Those handicapping the race at present predict the
following finish: 1. Dubinin 2. Cherepkov
3. Apanasenko 4. Kirilichev 5. Dar'kin.
However, polls in Primorye are extremely unscientific, and most observers would not care to put their money where
their mouth is. One of our better-informed contacts believes that Apanasenko
may not even make the top five. If he doesn't, this could spell political
trouble for Pulikovskiy, who has
already backed losing candidates in three other RFE elections.
Nazdratenko Returns Incognito? Well, Maybe Not
According to a number of news reports, last week former Governor Yevgeniy Nazdratenko returned to Primorye "incognito" to engage in a campaign designed to derail the upcoming elections and reinstate himself in power. "Izvestiya" passed on a Yabloko party theory that Nazdratenko would encourage a majority of the Election Commission -- many of whom are his cronies -- to resign. This would stop the election process and create enough chaos in Primorye to enable almost anything to happen. Since the appearance of these stories, however, the more prosaic truth has unfortunately been discovered. It turns out that Nazdratenko did visit the Russian Far East -- but not Primorye. He went instead to Sakhalin. From there, he traveled with his two sons to Korea and returned to Moscow. Too bad -- it was a good story.
Tolstoshein (right) with his pal, Volodya Zhirinovskiy
Tolstoshein Writing His Memoirs
Meanwhile, as he awaits a court decision on his lawsuit to get his old job back, former First Deputy Governor Tolstoshein is writing his memoirs. The book will be entitled "A Kray of Emergencies" (Kray Chrezvychaynykh Situatsiy). Tolstoshein claims that he is writing the book himself, which has led local wags to profess excitement at the prospect of learning whether Tolstoshein is actually literate -- or not. Tolstoshein promises that his memoirs will come out before the election, and will cause some people to "faint dead away." In view of the tales that Tolstoshein could tell, if he actually intends to write a book then he would probably be wise to invest heavily in armored cars and bulletproof vests.
Thursday, April 26, 2001
No. 008 Meeting with Former Primorye Governor Vladimir Kuznetsov
No. 8
U.S.
Consulate General, Vladivostok
April 26, 2001
Meeting with Former Primorye Governor Vladimir Kuznetsov
 |
| CG and Former Primorye Governor Vladimir Kuznetsov |
I met with former
Primorye Governor Vladimir Kuznetsov on the afternoon of April 26. Kuznetsov, a Kozyrev man, was Governor of Primorye in the early 1990s
before Yevgeniy Nazdratenko came to power. It was at Kuznetsov's urging that Vladivostok was opened to foreigners,
and it was because of his frequent foreign trips that Nazdratenko and his
supporters were able to engineer his removal in 1993. Following his removal from the Governorship,
Kuznetsov was appointed Russian Consul General in San Francisco. He served there until 1997, and then he and
his family stayed in the U.S., where he works as a consultant
and Vice President of the Russian-American Cultural Foundation. Kuznetsov is visiting Primorye to renew old
acquaintances and to deliver lectures at DVGU (Far East State University) on
Russian-American relations. Over the
past week, he has appeared on numerous TV news programs and talk shows in the
Primorye area, but in public has been rather circumspect in his views.
Kuznetsov on the Gubernatorial Election
Kuznetsov
was unsparing in his description of the various candidates for Governor, who, as
of today, number 16 and counting. He said none of them would have been his first choice for Governor. "All the really good men left Primorye
when they saw how Nazdratenko was ruining it." However, he noted that he had met with Acting
Governor Valentin Dubinin twice in
the past week. He thought he had improved considerably since Kuznetsov
knew him as head of the Anuchinskiy district in the early 1990s. "He is not pure, and not brilliant, but
he has good intentions." Kuznetsov
said that he and Dubinin were discussing the possibility of Kuznetsov's
return to Primorye as an adviser on Foreign Relations to the Governor, should
Dubinin win the election. It was also
possible that Kuznetsov might be appointed to the Federation Council, but this
was a decided long shot. In any event, his family would stay in Marin
County.
While
Kuznetsov thought that Dubinin had the best chance for victory, he did not
dismiss the possibility that former Mayor Cherepkov
might win in a runoff. "Cherepkov is very clever, and he will ally with anyone (i.e., even
Nazdratenko) to improve his chances of winning." Kuznetsov thought Deputy PolPred Gennadiy Apanasenko also had a chance
at winning, but only if the Center was willing to resort to the crudest of
election strong-arm tactics.
"Apanasenko has no popular support. People will only vote for him because they fear what
might happen if they oppose him and he wins." Kuznetsov planned to meet with PolPred Pulikovskiy next week. If asked, he planned to tell him to drop the support of his Deputy since the latter would not be perceived if legitimate if
he won.
Kuznetsov
expressed nothing but derision at the current antics of ex-First Deputy
Governor Tolstoshein. "The man has no shame. First he sues to
get his old job back, and now he is threatening to write a tell-all memoir. He
can't tell all, or he'll go to jail."
Admiration for Ishayev
Kuznetsov
expressed admiration for Khabarovsk Kray Governor Ishayev, who he
described as an old friend and colleague. "He has a fearsome reputation," Kuznetsov said, "and he
does have complete control of Khabarovsk. But he is nevertheless a little soft-hearted. He has people on his staff that I would have
fired long ago, just because he doesn't like to let people go."
Anti-Americanism in Vladivostok
Kuznetsov
said there was some anti-Americanism in Vladivostok, but not as much as
people might suppose. Partly this was a
hangover from Nazdratenko, who "had 200 propagandists on his
staff" ready to blame foreigners,
especially Chinese and Americans, for any failures in
Primorye. Kuznetsov said that his
contacts with DVGU students indicated that the younger generation, at
least, had lost its wariness of foreigners and was eager for increased
contacts.
Kuznetsov
will return to Primorye the week before the elections and has promised to drop
by for another conversation.
Tuesday, April 24, 2001
No. 007 Andrew Fox Pessimistic on Prospects for Improvement in Primorye Investment Climate
No. 7
U.S.
Consulate General, Vladivostok
April 24, 2001
Andrew Fox Pessimistic on Prospects for Improvement in
Primorye Investment Climate
I met on the
afternoon of April 24 with Andrew Fox,
the Honorary British Consul and representative of Tiger Securities in
Vladivostok. Andrew had just completed a
series of shareholder meetings involving FESCO (Friday), Nakhodka Shipping Port
(Monday), and his own company Farmazol (today). He reported on the outcomes of
those meetings and his general assessment of Primorye's political and economic
situation.
FESCO -- Foreigners Heading for the Exits
As
predicted by FESCO Marketing Manager Richard Thomas (see the previous e-mail,
attached), the board voted Myskov
out as Chairman. It confirmed Lugovets and
Nadein as CEO and Deputy,
respectively. In an unexpected development,
no foreigners were voted to the 11-member board. Fox said his firm's shares amounted to
less than four percent of the company, but he had expected that foreigners
would get a seat anyway, if just for show. Fox said that he and his partners would be trying to sell their shares
for around $2.5 million -- a deep discount considering his estimate of the
total worth of FESCO at approximately $250-300 million (Thomas had estimated
$400 million). Fox said this was
just one more indicator of Primorye's parlous state of foreign investments. Despite Putin's politically
correct statements on foreign investors in Russia, the fact was that in
Primorye, they were still streaming for the exits and with good cause.
Nakhodka Shipping Port -- Russians Playing
Dirty Pool
Fox
and his partners also had a 25% stake in Nakhodka Shipping Port, the
second largest port in Primorye after Vostochniy, with assets valued at around
$30 million. Fox noted that he and his partners, seeing which way the wind
blew, sold out last year to the principal stockholder and General Director company,
Geliy Nikolayevich Myasnikov. They were willing to accept a steep discount
in the share price in this case, but after the deal had been signed for $2.0
million, Myasnikov reneged and made a new offer of $1.0 million. Fox and his partners balked. At yesterday's shareholder meeting, Myasnikov
and his allies gained total control of the company by polling 75.2% of
shares. Fox said this would enable
them to issue new stock and dilute foreign holdings to next to nothing. Fox, justifiably dubious of any possibility
of a court solution, was looking for a
way to sell the company's remaining shares for whatever he could get.
Farmazol -- Not Yet a Target
Fox
said he had recently purchased 56% of this small company and expected it to be in profit in four to five years. The company currently markets herbal medicines and teas and has recently
acquired an "eternal" lease on 400 hectares of good agricultural land
near Vladivostok's airport.
The Gubernatorial Election -- Who is the
Lesser Evil?
Fox
was quite scathing in his critique of nearly all the major gubernatorial
candidates. Fox expected little change
in business conditions if the current favorite, Acting Governor Dubinin, was elected since
"Dubinin is Nazdratenko's man."
He thought former mayor Cherepkov
and PolPred Deputy Apanasenko also
had a good chance at taking the election, although the latter seemed to need to better manage his campaign. Fox's bottom line was that prospects could have been better for significantly improving business conditions no matter which of the
three major candidates became governor -- even Apanasenko. Fox's preference was for PRISCO
General Director Kirilichev. Fox and
his investors held about 7% of PRISCO's shares, and it was one of the few
investments Fox had where he had not had to fend off dubious Russian takeover
bids. In fact, dealing with Kirilichev
was like dealing with a normal businessman. Unfortunately, Fox said, Kirilichev's chances
of winning the governorship were small.
Addressees: Please forward as appropriate.
James F. SchumakerActing Consul General
Vladivostok, Russia
Telephone 7(4232)30-00-70
Fax 7(4232)26-02-48
SchumakerJF@State.Gov
jfs@compuserve.com
THIS E-MAIL IS
UNCLASSIFIED IAW E.O. 12958.
Attachment: FESCO Floundering, But a Little Bit of
Light Appears at the End of the Tunnel
Richard Thomas, the newly-appointed Marketing Manager
for the Far East Shipping Company (FESCO), called on me at the Consulate
General on April 18.
Changes Coming at
FESCO
Thomas said that on April 20, there will be a meeting of
the FESCO Board of Directors at which the current Chairman of the Board, Viktor Mis'kov,
will be sacked. Mis'kov,
who is 71, has been with FESCO in one
capacity or another since 1990. He and another board member, Yevgeniy Ambrosov,
are currently under investigation for asset stripping and other financial
irregularities. Thomas added that Mis'kov 's son-in-law, currently FESCO's representative
in Australia, is also under investigation, as is Mis'kov
's son, currently in Sweden. The
latter has a reputation as a ne'er do well who lost big money -- most of it
FESCOs -- in local casinos. Thomas said
he did not know who would replace Mis'kov,
although it was likely that the Federal Ministry of Transport, which now owned
about 20 percent of FESCO's shares,
would nominate someone as "absentee chairman." CEO Lugovets and his Deputy Nadein
would be retained and continue to run the company as they had for the
past year. Foreign interests, once
accounting for 40 percent of FESCO's shares, were now below five percent and
would be represented by Andrew Fox (British Honorary Consul and Chairman of
Tiger Securities). The remaining seats
on the 11-member board would go to Russians -- none, apparently, with direct
ties to the Primorye local government.
FESCO is in Deep
Financial Trouble but Climbing Back
Thomas reported that FESCO was trying to set its house
in order but had dug a tremendous hole in the 1990s and nearly
collapsed during the 1998 financial crisis. In 1992, FESCO owned over a hundred ships with a net worth of over a
billion dollars. After a decade of asset
stripping and rake-offs by the Nazdratenko regime, its net worth was less than
400 million. Also, its shipping
fleet was down to about 70 dry cargo vessels, but several new container ships promised to turn FESCO's profit picture around. Moore Stevens, FESCO's accounting firm, reported
that in 1999 FESCO lost over $60 million; in 2000, over $50 million, and projections for 2001 showed a loss of
about $40 million. The highly-cooked
Russian books for this period show a slight profit each year, including a
gain of 32.9 million rubles for 2000. However, even the Russian accountants had to
admit that FESCO would pay no dividend this year, the first time that has
happened in recent memory. Despite the
relatively gloomy profit picture, Moore Stevens believes that FESCO, if appropriately managed, could start to show a profit within 3-4 years.
Thomas said that with the demise of Nazdratenko and most of his Vice Governor allies, the years of asset stripping and "contributions" to the Primorye treasury were over. "Besides which," he noted, "nearly everything worth stealing has been stolen." Despite the depredations of the Primorye leadership, FESCO still ranked as the 34th largest shipping company in the world, and Thomas believed it could come back with proper management. One enormous problem was FESCO's bloated payroll. In Vladivostok alone, over 1,000 bureaucrats were working in FESCO's offices.
In contrast, in a normal shipping
company of FESCO's size, there would be fewer than 200 (Lugovets has promised
to trim the excess during his term in office, which expires in 2005). Even worse, FESCO's overseas representatives
had been bleeding the company white by setting up bogus businesses, contracting
for the sale of equipment through these firms to FESCO at grossly inflated
prices, and then pocketing the difference themselves. Most of these "representatives,"
including Mis'kov 's relatives, would probably
be fired and, in some cases, prosecuted.
PRISCO Doing
Better
Thomas noted that FESCO's sister shipping company,
PRISCO (Primorye Shipping Company) had weathered the decade of the 1990s
somewhat better. Headquartered in
Nakhodka and run by current gubernatorial candidate Aleksandr Kirilichev,
PRISCO had managed to preserve most of its shipping fleet, which now consists
of about 45 tankers, and was worth more than $300 million. Kirilichev, over the years, had also managed
to re-flag most of his vessels. This
kept them from being "acquired" by the Primorye government or its
allies and enabled Kirilichev to shelter much of PRISCO's income
overseas. Recently, anti-Kirilichev
newspapers have been leveling the accusation that Kirilichev has been
responsible for "capital flight" from Russia and should be
prosecuted. Thomas noted wryly
that Kirilichev sponsored capital flight, but from Nazdratenko, not
Russia.
Biographic Note: Richard Thomas,
an American citizen, is a longtime resident of the Vladivostok area and knows
the local scene well. Originally a Russian
Studies major at Wesleyan, he studied at MGU in the mid-1980s and became
fascinated with life in Russia. He came
to Vladivostok in 1992, married a Russian citizen, and has lived here
ever since. He was editor of the
Vladivostok News (English version) from 1995 until 1998, when the paper folded. Before that, he taught at DVGU (Far East
State University) in Vladivostok. From
1997 until 1999 he was a member of the Board of Directors of FESCO,
representing foreign shareholders. In
1999, he started up an English-language newspaper in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk but left
when organized criminal elements started moving in. Most recently, he worked as head of the
Investment and Securities Department at the Vladivostok Port Authority until he
was appointed to his present position in November 2000.
Note
on Share Ownership. Officially, FESCO claims that it is still
almost 40% foreign-owned, but this is disingenuous. According to company records summarized by
"Zolotoy Rog," the Federal Ministry of Transport owns 19.8% of shares
through the Ministry of State Property (Mingosimuschestva). According to "Zolotoy Rog," foreign interests account for 37%. However, the two most significant "foreign" shareholders are "Sirapko Limited" and
"Makhaon Limited." Both companies are registered in Cyprus and are
likely fronts for Russian investors affiliated with Nazdratenko and Mis'kov.
"Zolotoy Rog" also reports that foreign interests will be decreased
to "a symbolic percent," which makes Thomas's figure (below 5%) sound
reasonable. Other significant shareholders
include Dalnevostochniy Bank (12.9%) and Sovkomflot (5.7%).
Note
on FESCO Board of Directors. There are over 30 candidates for the 11 seats
on the FESCO Board. The federal government has submitted a list of 7 people
whom it would like to see as members of the board, including two current FESCO
executives (Aleksandr Lugovets and Aleksandr Zhiglitskiy), two people from the
Federal Ministry of Transport (Sergey Zhelannov and Gleb Fedulov), two people
from the Ministry of State Property (Irina Bogacheva and Gennadiy Bogatyrev),
and Primorye Vice Governor Gennadiy Tokulenko. "Zolotoy Rog" also
mentions that the Chairman of the Board of the regional branch of Morbank,
Rashid Mursekayev, and his deputy Roman Pakhomov have submitted their candidacies
independently. Morbank is currently trying to buy up FESCO's
"foreign" shares.
Monday, April 23, 2001
No. 006 Primorye Election Update: April 23, 2001
No. 6
U.S.
Consulate General, Vladivostok
April 23, 2001
Primorye Election Update: April 23, 2001
Will the Real Gennadiy Apanasenko Please Stand Up?
The April 21 deadline has passed for submitting signatures to the Election Commission, but not without the first of what we predict will be many dirty tricks in the runup to the May 27 election. Just before the deadline, three new candidates filed with the election commission. All were from St. Petersburg, and all were named Gennadiy Apanasenko! The first Gennadiy is a pensioner, the second is unemployed, and the third is a truck driver (presumably highballing it to Vladivostok even as we speak). The real Gennadiy Apanasenko ( PolPred Pulikovskiy's Deputy) appeared on various talk shows over the weekend trying to ignore questions about his namesakes, but it's pretty evident he's steamed. In classic understatement, Commission Chairman Yevgeniy Khrustalyev noted that "the law gives anyone the right to advance their candidacy." This brings the number of declared candidates to 34.
Registration to be Completed April 26 -- It Will be a Crowded Field.
Meanwhile, the registration process continues, with most major candidates assured of a place on the ballot. According to information as of April 23, six candidates have thus far successfully registered: Communist Party Leader Grishukov, former Mayor Cherepkov, former Arbitration Court Head Loktionova, "Roliz" General Director Dar'kin, Primorye Shipping Company Director Kirilichev, and (drum roll) -- the real Gennadiy Apanasenko. Apanasenko's registration was challenged, however, by Grishukov, which might lead one to mark him down as the prime suspect in the multiple Apanasenko caper -- were it not for the fact that nearly everyone else in the race is deemed capable of such a dirty trick as well. Ten other candidates have submitted sufficient signatures for consideration by the Election Commission, which has until April 26 to determine whether to place them on the ballot. These include Acting Governor Dubinin, former Black Sea Fleet Commander Kasatonov, Kray Duma Speaker Zhekov, Duma Deputies Rybalkin and Gil'zenberg, and "Dal'nevostochnaya Respublika" editor Cherevkov. It is not known whether any of the false Apanasenkos are in this group. Thus far, only one major candidate has been disqualified for insufficient valid signatures: "Stroylyuks" Director Yuriy Dimidenko.
Tolstoshein Files Suit.
Not being one to allow grass to grow under his feet, ex-First Deputy Governor Konstantin Tolstoshein, probably sensing (accurately) that he hasn't got a prayer as a legitimate gubernatorial candidate, has declared that on April 25, he will file suit in the Frunze District Court of Vladivostok to get his old job back. Tolstoshein's contention is that PolPred Pulikovskiy and current Acting Governor Dubinin forced him to resign illegally. And, oh yes, he's asking for 300,000 rubles in punitive damages. This is a lot in terms of recent court settlements but not in real money (R28 = $1.00).
But Life Goes On.
However, for the average inhabitant of Vladivostok, the tempo of everyday life takes precedence over the smarmy -- if nonetheless amusing -- pre-election gyrations of the various gubernatorial hopefuls. Last Saturday, over 60,000 people turned out for the "Aprel'skiy Subbotnik," raking leaves, cleaning up trash, and doing other civic chores that were once de rigeur in the Soviet state and which President Putin appears to be bringing back into fashion once again. "Roliz" General Director Dar'kin did not miss the chance for a little politically-correct campaigning by turning out with his entire workforce, rake in hand, to do his bit for Putin and country. On Sunday, the traditional "Roditel'skiy Den'" the week following Easter, thousands of ordinary citizens took advantage of the excellent Spring weather to make the annual pilgrimage to Vladivostok's two main cemeteries -- "Lesnoy" and "Morskoy," to tidy up the graves of their loved ones, to lay flowers, and -- admittedly -- to drink an extraordinary amount of vodka. Life goes on.
Thursday, April 19, 2001
No. 005 The Primorye Gubernatorial Election: Welcome to the Twilight Zone
No. 5
U.S.
Consulate General, Vladivostok
April 19, 2001
The
Primorye Gubernatorial Election: Welcome to the Twilight Zone
As the April 21 deadline for submitting registration
signatures approaches, the various gubernatorial hopefuls are engaging in
ever-more desperate— and some would say downright strange—maneuvers to gain the
advantage in the election race. This
E-Mail chronicles some of the stranger developments we have noted over the past
few days.
1. Apanasenko to Pulikovskiy:
Registering is Hard to Do
Viktor Cherepkov, former mayor of
Vladivostok; Aleskandr Kirilichev, Primorye Shipping Company General Director;
Tat’yana Loktionova, former Chairman of the Primorye Arbitration Court; and
Sergey Dar’kin, General Manager of “Roliz” (a Joint Stock Company). Acting Governor Valentin Dubinin, the
acknowledged front-runner, is expected to submit his signatures today, as is
another heavyweight in the contest, Primorye Duma Chairman Sergey Zhekov.
2. Pulikovskiy Tells Leaders to “Take a Break.” Tolstoshein Volunteers his Services
During his flying visit to Primorye this
week, PolPred Konstantin Pulikovskiy criticized Dubinin and Zhekov (as well as
his own protege Apanasenko) for remaining on the job while campaigning,
suggesting that they all “go on leave as quickly as possible.” However unlikely this eventuality may be,
former First Deputy Governor Konstantin Tolstoshein resurfaced in a radio
interview today to declare his readiness to serve as acting Governor in
Dubinin’s absence! Simultaneously, the
pro-Nazdratenko tabloid “Novosti” published a story alleging that Tolstoshein
had never actually resigned his position as First Deputy Governor, and
therefore could become acting Governor if Dubinin left. We’re not sure how the Center will be taking
all this news, but presumably not well.
3. Cherepkov and Nazdratenko
Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G
4. Nazdratenko: Tired of Fish?
Rumors circulating in Primorye indicate
that former Governor Yevgeniy Nazdratenko may soon attempt a political
comeback. If, as appears likely, the
State Fisheries Committee will be merged into the Agriculture Ministry at the
end of April, Nazdratenko will in effect be out of a job—or at least one with a
Ministerial portfolio. According to talk
on the street, Nazdratenko would then seek to have the Gubernatorial elections
postponed until September or December and run for re-election. Alternatively,
he would run in the December Primorye Duma elections in his hometown, Dal’negorsk. Following that, Nazdratenko enthusiasts
claim, he would almost certainly be elected as Chairman of the Primorye Duma,
and become the “legislative governor” of the region.
I did tell you this was the Russian Far
East, didn’t I?
Wednesday, December 27, 2000
No. 004 Pasko Pleads for Support
No. 004
U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok
December 27, 2000
Pasko Pleads for Western Support
By James Schumaker, A/Consul General
 |
| Capt. Grigoriy Pasko after his release from prison in 1999 |
Summary
1. (SBU) On
December 15, Acting CG and Pol/Econ Assistant met with Grigoriy Pasko, a
military journalist accused of treason by the FSB, to discuss recent
developments in his case. Pasko believed that his retrial would begin in
about two or three months’ time, and that the proceedings could drag on
for more than a year. He was not optimistic about his chances for
acquittal, and was hoping for assistance from Western human rights
organizations and prominent political figures. Pasko said he was
destitute, since the military would not allow him to retire, and
was not paying him either, and since newspapers were reluctant to
hire him as a freelance, for fear of coming under FSB scrutiny. Pasko said
he was also troubled that the Japanese government had never once come
to his defense. Pasko conveyed to A/CG a letter to the U.S. Congress
(informal translation, edited for clarity, attached after para 8). Pasko
said he hoped that this could form the basis of a congressional
letter-writing campaign on his behalf.
Background
2. (U) Captain
Second-Rank Grigoriy Pasko, a former correspondent of “Boyevaya Vakhta”
(“Combat Duty”), was arrested by the Russian Federal Security
Service (FSB) at Vladivostok airport on November 20, 1997 upon his
return from a business trip to Japan. Pasko was accused of divulging state
secrets by passing information to a Japanese news agency about
Russia’s dumping of nuclear waste into the Pacific and
the environmental pollution caused by spent missile fuel.
 |
| Missile Fuel Leak at Konyushkovo Bay June 2000 |
3. (U)
Pasko was held in pre-trial detention during the FSB’s investigation of
the charges against him, a process that took 20 months. Pasko’s indictment
was classified as secret, making it difficult for his attorneys to
mount a proper legal defense. The trial, which began on January 21, 1999,
took six months. Pasko was charged with treason under
Article 275
of the Russian Federation Criminal Code. As the prosecution could not
prove his guilt under this article, the charges were reduced and he was
convicted instead of “misuse of official position,” article 285, Part
I of the criminal code. The sentence for this charge was three years in
prison. According to the State Duma’s Amnesty Decree of June 18, 1999,
Pasko was granted amnesty and was released on July 20, 1999, having
already served two thirds of his sentence in pre-trial detention. Neither
side was satisfied with the verdict.
4. (U) On
September 22, 2000 Pacific Fleet Prosecutor Suchkov appealed the court’s
decision to the Military Collegium in Moscow. Suchkov claimed that
Pasko’s punishment was “too mild” and should be changed. Pasko also
appealed to the Collegium, asking that the Court’s original verdict be
dismissed and that he be found not guilty. On November 21, the Military Collegium
of the Russian Supreme Court granted Suchkov’s appeal by annulling the
decision of the Pacific Fleet Military Court. Pasko’s case
was returned to the Pacific Fleet Military Court for a new trial.
 |
| Pasko Accompanied by Guards, 1997 |
Meeting with A/CG
5. (SBU)
In his meeting with A/CG, Pasko said that he expected the new trial to last for
at least a year. His case history was extremely long, comprising 22 thick
volumes of documents that the new judges were supposed to study before
making a decision. By the end of December 2000, the Military Collegium
would decide who would be sitting on the board that would
determine Pasko’s fate. Pasko was concerned (to put it mildly) that
the judges chosen for his case would be pressured by the FSB into finding
him guilty of treason.
6. (SBU)
Pasko said he was afraid that he might be detained again during the
investigative phase of the trial, which could last for 2-3 months. He said
that the court could legally do this by claiming that he had somehow
“interfered in court procedures and hindered the investigative
process.” Pasko added, however,
that even if he was not detained, he faced another problem – unemployment.
Currently he is not allowed to retire from the military, although
his contract with the Ministry of Defense expired long ago, and he is
not getting paid. No Russian newspaper wants to have him on staff because
of fear of pressure from FSB. Pasko asked A/CG if the U.S.
government might be able to provide him with a grant to write reports
on human rights and free speech issues in Primorye (A/CG made no
commitments).
Japan Silent
7. (SBU)
Pasko also said that he wondered why the Japanese side had been silent for
all these years, noting that “this casts a negative light not only
on me, but also on the Japanese news agency that I supposedly passed
secret information to.” Pasko asked for U.S. assistance in convincing the
Japanese government to make a statement on his behalf.
Letter to Congress
8. (SBU) Pasko
also gave A/CG a letter he had written to the U.S. Congress. Pasko
expressed the hope that interested congressmen would use this letter as
the basis for letters of their own to Western parliamentarians and to
the Russian authorities. In response to his request, A/CG undertook to
pass the text of the letter to the Department, but made
no commitments as to its eventual disposition. Pasko also gave us an
e-mail address where persons or organizations interested in his plight
could contact him: pasko@marine.su.
Attachment: Pasko’s Letter to U.S. Congress
Begin text.
Dear Sirs!
On November 21,
1997 I was arrested on a charge of treason. This was the way in which the
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) tried to cast my
professional contacts with the Japanese mass media.
On July 20, 1999
the Pacific Fleet Military Court dropped the charge of treason, and I was
charged with misuse of an official position. Taking
into consideration all the facts of the case, the court released me
from custody.
On November 21,
2000 the Military Collegium of the Russian Supreme Court upheld the appeal
of the Military Prosecutor's office and cancelled the decision of the
Pacific Fleet Military Court. My case was returned to the Pacific Fleet
Military Court for a new hearing.
All of the
evidence in this case and all the investigative documents demonstrate the
flimsiness of the FSB's accusations. Anybody interested in
getting acquainted with these materials and documents can do so by
accessing "The Case of Grigoriy Pasko" and "The Case of
Pasko - 2," which are published on the Internet by the Public
Committee in Defense of Grigoriy Pasko at www.index.org.ru. (At present,
the Public Committee is trying to translate all the materials on the
website into English).
The evident
unsoundness of the charges has caused a serious public reaction. The court
received more than 20,000 letters and appeals from individuals and
public organizations from all over the world. In January of 1999
"Amnesty International" declared me a "prisoner of
conscience."
If the upcoming
court hearing were a solely legal matter, I would have no reason to bother
you with my requests. Unfortunately, I have a serious
misgivings that this trial will not be limited just to court
procedures, but will turn into a case of political persecution.
My concerns
are heightened by the public statements of top Russian law-enforcement
officials. Despite the evidence in the case, these officials proclaim that
it is imperative for the state to convict me.
Moreover,
I am not allowed to retire from the military, although my contract
with the Ministry of Defense expired long ago.
In view of these
facts, I appeal to you to look into my case and inform the Russian side
about your views on it by any means that are allowed by your status
and authority. Such attention by you will help shield the
judges in my case from external FSB pressure, allowing my case to be
decided according to the law.
Military
Journalist Grigoriy
Pasko
2
Ivanovskaya St., Apt.24, Vladivostok,
690005,
Russia
December 15,
2000 [Signature]
End text.
Note: The original Russian text of the letter
follows on page 6 (print is faint):
