This is the second editorial in this week's edition of the Sakhalin Times

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Moscow and New York witnessed a number of protests against Sakhalin’s oil and gas projects this week. The most vocal of these protests was conducted by Greenpeace activists in Moscow. One can’t help but feel that the environmentalists are fighting for a noble cause. The Western Gray Whale is endangered and no one (Sakhalin Energy included) wants these mammals to become extinct. Just about every Sakhaliner agrees that wastes shouldn’t be dumped into Aniva Bay. Sakhalin’s indigenous people have a right to preserve their way of life and sources of livelihood. It’s wonderful that there are organisations and political parties in Sakhalin that take a stand on these noble causes.

However, it hasn’t escaped our notice that the environmental crusaders turn a blind eye to the destruction of the environment, when the harmful activities aren’t carried out by large multinational companies. A large number of locals are involved in poaching crabs, salmon and other fish off the Sea of Okhotsk. Violating Russian Government quotas, which are set for conservation, the poachers are driving many endangered species to extinction. We don’t see protests by environmentalists against this menace.

Where was the condemnation from the Greens when it was discovered that there was massive deforestation by the Lyutoga River by illegal Chinese immigrants? An entire stretch of forest was felled by these immigrants who practised subsistence farming for months until they were finally caught. The imminent danger to Sakhalin’s forests is not high on the agenda of the environmentalists as this isn’t being done by the wealthy oil companies.

Many stretches of forests in southern and central Sakhalin are in flames this summer and in almost all cases, it’s Sakhaliners who are responsible. Is there any attempt by the environmentalists to educate the Sakhalin public on how to prevent forest fires? Every year, the situation with garbage in the forests gets worse. The more the parties are held in the forests, the more the bottles, plastics and junk food wrappers get dumped there. Sakhalin’s already fragile environment faces severe damage and the threat comes from within. It’s time that the green crusaders thought about this threat and do their part to minimise harm to Sakhalin’s ecosystem.

This is the first editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

The Kamchatka shelf is said to contain almost 900 million metric tonnes of oil. Given the growing demand for oil around the world, it’s only a matter of time before large international organisations set up base in Kamchatka and engage in oil development projects. The people of Kamchatka are expecting an economic boom, much like Sakhaliners did in the early 1990s.

Kamchatka has a huge gap between the haves and have-nots. The Russian Government removed several subsidies in the region a few years ago making life more expensive. Those that have made it rich and live in one of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski’s many mansions are in some way connected with the sea-food mafia which sells its poached products to a large market in Japan and South Korea. The ones not so fortunate to be involved in the caviar smuggling trade look upon the potential oil projects as a way of economic upliftment.

The Russian Government and Kamchatka Administration need to look into the problems of Sakhalin, before signing any Production Sharing Agreements. A large section of Sakhaliners believe that there is very little in the oil projects for them. It’s fair to say that many Sakhaliners had unrealistic expectations when they first heard about the development of oil projects on the island. The Kamchatka Administration needs to have a major brainstorming session with the residents of the peninsula and inform them of what they can and cannot expect from these projects. Those that expect to become instant millionaires overnight are sure to tumble into the same sense of disillusionment that many Sakhaliners have fallen into.

The authorities in Kamchatka also need to drive a hard bargain while negotiating with the energy giants. Large international companies need to be reminded of their social responsibilities. It is pivotal that the Kamchatka Administration ties up investment in oil projects to involvement in social developmental projects.

The most important lesson that the Kamchatka Administration can learn from Sakhalin is to involve environmentalists in the negotiations before any project is finalised. The Sea of Okhotsk is a natural treasure and should be protected from any harm. The Kamchatka authorities will be best served if they consult both Russian environmental groups and international environmental groups like WWF and the IUCN before a project is finalised. These groups have large public support and their clout can hold large oil companies, major international lending institutions and banks to ransom. Unless the ‘Greens’ are fully satisfied that the environment will not be damaged, work on large projects can be interrupted at regular stages.

Lessons from Sakhalin can ensure that Kamchatka’s oil projects benefit the global energy market and the people of Kamchatka and at the same time protect the environment.

This is the first editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Those of us that regularly fish by the Lyutoga River have definitely noticed the deforestation taking place in the area. There are entire stretches in the forest where trees have been mercilessly chopped. This would normally be attributed to the timber mafia. This time however, it was discovered that a “colony” of illegal Chinese immigrants had settled in the forest. This is the second major arrest of illegal Chinese immigrants in Sakhalin this year. In March, an illegal clinic was discovered in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

The Interior Department claimed that the arrested immigrants were hiding in the forest for the last 4 months and were “successful subsistence farmers.” The sheer audacity of these people to set up greenhouses and huts in the forest has puzzled many a Sakhaliner.

An Interior Department official told one of our reporters that the “ring leader” of the arrested group was absolutely unrepentant. He apparently claimed that he was still in China and that Tsarist Russia snatched away Chinese land. The Chinese Consulate in Khabarovsk was quick to condemn these people for illegally settling in Sakhalin. Russia and China are humming the tune of friendship these days. This was reaffirmed during the trilateral Foreign Ministers meeting in Vladivostok two weeks ago. Russia and China can certainly be friends.

The Blagoveshensk-Heihe border demonstrates the genuine warmth in relations between the former Cold War enemies. That border is a symbol of friendship between the countries. Visa procedures are minimal in the region and adequate arrangements have been made by the Chinese Government to ensure that its citizens don’t use the virtually open border to sneak into other parts of Russia. Cultural programmes on both sides of the border ensure greater people-to-people contact and this has in-turn ensured that many citizens of both countries can speak both Russian and Chinese.

China has officially renounced claims on the Russian Far East but Chinese history textbooks still claim that Russia imposed “unequal treaties on Manchuria” and illegally annexed Chinese land. China vociferously protested “distorted history” in Japanese textbooks while largely ignoring the bias present in its own school curriculum. School children from China are taught that the Russian Far East (and this includes Sakhalin) is Chinese land. As long as this continues, young Chinese people will continue to look at Russia with hostility and even look to take back “Chinese” land.

Hostility isn’t restricted to young people. In May, 200 illegal Chinese immigrants ganged up and attacked policemen in Irkutsk when they were asked to show their documents and permits. It might not actually be Chinese state policy to colonise Siberia and the Russian Far East but Beijing is doing little to stop some of its citizens who have decided to take matters into their own hands.

The onus is on Beijing to impose much stricter control on illegal emigration from the country. Given Russian fears of a Chinese takeover of the Far East, the presence of a large number of illegal Chinese in Russia could be the ultimate obstruction to improvement in bilateral relations and better cooperation.

This is the first editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

It’s quite a scary thought that an escaped Primorye serial killer and two of his fellow prison-mates could be on their way to Sakhalin. This is certainly not the first instance of a mainland criminal sneaking into the island. The island’s isolation from the mainland and its large forest cover are perfect refuge for escaped convicts and criminals. Sakhalin’s crime rate is estimated to be around 30% higher than the national average and police attribute a large part of that to the presence of “professional” criminals from the mainland. One of the main reasons that the island was a closed zone till 1992 was to prevent the influx of criminals.

Thirteen years later, a large crime syndicate exists on the island with suspected criminals from all across Russia, former Soviet republics and even China. There have been several highly publicised drug busts this year and in all media-reported cases, the drug smugglers were from Uzbekistan and Central Asia. Police records indicate that a majority of those arrested for petty crimes and muggings in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk were citizens of Azerbaijan. An official with the UVD or Interior Department told this publication that a large proportion of murders on the island are committed by mainlanders. Those arrested and convicted form just the tip of the iceberg. There is far more illegal activity going on in Sakhalin than the Interior Department will ever account for.

The only way to stop the influx of criminals into Sakhalin is to tighten security measures at the Kholmsk and Korsakov ports. The Vanino-Kholmsk Ferry is believed to be a popular way for criminals to get to Sakhalin. At the Kholmsk ferry pier, one solitary policeman “checks” documents. This check usually involves a glance at the first page of the passport and that’s where it ends. It’s doubtful whether the policeman even checks if it’s a Russian passport, let alone checking for a visa. Now compare this to the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport, where FSB officers and police wait on the tarmac after a domestic flight lands and are even equipped with a passenger list and scrupulously check if the visitor’s visa is valid for Sakhalin.

Last year, the airport authorities boasted about how they stopped many an illegal visitor because of these checks. Foreign citizens who can afford to fly into Sakhalin are far less a risk to the island than those landing in Kholmsk everyday. We’re not suggesting that a passport control bureau be set up at the Kholmsk pier but the port needs to take as much security measures as the airport. The authorities must have passenger lists and need to coordinate with police to ensure that no fugitive is entering the island. It wouldn’t hurt the port authorities to ensure that no illegal immigrants sneak in either.

This is the first editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times.

When the western media unites in a cause, all their collective forces go on complete ‘brainwashing’ mode. Last year, during the so-called Orange Revolution, the international media made it look like Russia was meddling in Ukraine’s affairs, while the west completely stayed out. Not even a small note was made about the fact that this revolution had a lot of financial backing from foreign governments, who had their own vested interests in Ukraine. The coverage of the Yukos trial also showed how the west uses the media to protect its own interests. Khodorkovsky was portrayed to be a saint by some sections of the media. His letters which were published on a pro-western Russian news agency’s site, made him look like a cross between Jesus Christ and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Let’s get down to the facts. How can anyone seriously doubt whether Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were actually guilty of fraud? These ex-billionaires made their fortunes at the expense of the Russian people. A year of testimony and truckloads of documents undoubtedly established Khodorkovsky’s guilt. Justice was clearly served in the Yukos case. If anything, the 9-year sentence was rather lenient. With good behaviour and all concessions done, Khodorkovsky should be out of jail by 2009. Surely his family and friends need to view this as a positive development.

The western crocodile tears are flowing because it was western investors who assisted and backed Khodorkovsky. In other words, the west helped defraud the Russian people. This verdict is by no means a blow to Russian democracy. A thief was caught and imprisoned for stealing a fortune. Even in the democratic west, stealing billions of dollars worth of anything is punishable with a severe jail sentence. No “independent” judiciary anywhere in the world would have let Khodorkovsky go scot-free.

The Russian Government does not need any advice on how to the run the country. In 1991, the floodgates were thrown open to the torch-bearers of democracy, who were “consultants” of the new Russian Government. It was this vital mistake that set the country back thirty years. Enter Vladimir Putin in 2000, and the country has gone from strength to strength and is well on its way to reclaiming lost glory. This administration has not been perfect and their record has been tarnished by terrorism and the handling of the benefits-monetisation law. However, the instability and financial collapses of the Yeltsin years is absolutely history now thanks to relatively good governance.

Politicians and common citizens across Russia are rightfully calling for all oligarchs to be put to trial. Why should others who have defrauded Russia be allowed to get away with their actions? It’s never too late for justice and the Kremlin needs to show the right amount of resolve and bring every single guilty swindler to task.