Arkhangelsk top news in February

WEEK 5 (February 1-6)

Snow Hotel in the Ustjany District

International festival of snow-ice design “Frozen tales” was arranged from 1 till 6 of February in the Ustjany district on the territory of ski complex “Malinovka”. For the second time snow hotel hospitably opened its doors for the guests. This time it was a big northern house made of snow and ice with a snow bar and snow bath-house. The snow hotel – 2011 in the Ustjany district is included in the international network of creative hotels.

Military plants will be upgraded according to Shtokman needs

“United Shipbuilding Company” is planning to rebuild the 35 military Shipbuilding plant in Murmansk (the branch of JSC “Zvyozdochka”) to convert it into a service base providing technical maintenance for subsea gas-producing complexes and large-capacity vessels. However, the State Corporation acknowledges that in order to undertake civil orders the shipyard needs modernization. The time schedule for upgrade and renovation which needs financing fully depends on the Shtokman project development. At present the beginning of the project has been shifted for 2016-2017. Many other projects of USC also depend on the Shtokman project and are related to conversion of military shipyards to civil needs.

Exhibition from Arkhangelsk had a great success in Moscow

Exhibition “Arkhangelsk Oboz” arranged by the Regional Government and local museums was opened in Moscow in honor of the 300 anniversary of M.V.Lomonosov. This exhibition is considered to be a significant event in the cultural life of not only Russia, but in the whole world.

Diamond deposit will help to fight unemployment

Public hearings devoted to the perspectives of the development of Phase 1 of the diamond deposit named after V.Grib in the Mezen district were arranged in the Soyana village. It was said at the hearings that more than 100 working places will be established in the nearest future, with local people being employed on the primary basis. Today the unemployment level in the Mezen district is one of the highest in the Oblast. Out of 12 thousand inhabitants more than 600 people are unemployed.

It is easier to get a Norwegian visa

Honorary Consulate of Norway in Arkhangelsk has started receiving applications from the inhabitants of the Oblast and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug for Norwegian visas.

International conference on prevention of socially significant diseases

International conference “Inter-disciplinary approaches to socially significant diseases” was held in the Northern State Medical University with participation of Russian and Norwegian researchers, scientists, doctors and experts. The reports at the conference were made by specialists working on prevention and treatment of socially significant diseases (alcoholism, drug addiction, tuberculosis, mental and lungs diseases, including those related to smoking). A delegation from Southern Norway and Oslo representing health care institutions and universities came to Arkhangelsk to take part in the conference.

 Piracy thrives in Arkhangelsk

Microsoft updated piracy map in Russia. Arkhangelsk (22%) ranks second after Kaliningrad (31%) from the point of view of piracy intensity, which means that nearly every fourth software product here is not licensed. In general, the level of piracy in the North-western federal district remains lower than the average level in Russia.

Zagorovskiy and Mikhalchuk discussed the results of the year and the plans for the future

Governor Iliya Mikhalchuk and the CEO of “Shtokman Development AG” Aleksey Zagorovskiy had a working meeting in the Moscow office of the company. They discussed the results of the work of joint working groups established by the Government of the Arkhangelsk Oblast and “Shtokman Development AG”. Action plans for 2011 were also discussed at the meeting. The parties are determined to develop cooperation, also through involvement of leading local companies in the Shtokman project.

Gasification to move forward

It is planned to build five more gas boiler-houses in the Oblast in 2011. Those districts where gas is not planned to be delivered are expected to transfer heating systems from coal and black oil to biofuel. The Governor has set a task: to give up brought-in fuel by 2015. Moreover, “Gazprom” gives a lot of money for gasification of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, actually this is the second large amount in Russia. Only the Far East will get more money.

The problem of traffic jams needs to be solved

Arkhangelsk is planning to broaden its roads to solve the problem of traffic jams. Although the construction of overpasses requires a lot of money, the city administration is considering this possibility taking into account the increasing number of vehicles in the city. 300 cars per 1000 people - Arkhangelsk is approaching this ratio. 30 years ago when the roads were constructed this ratio was expected to be reached only by 2040.

Drinking water is getting more dangerous

The quality of drinking water in the Arkhangelsk Oblast is getting worse from year to year, there are districts where 100% of drinking water does not meet the existing sanitary norms. Only 13% of rural population and 20% of city population of the Pomor Land are provided with good-quality drinking water. The main reasons that affect the quality of our water are worn-out water supply networks and use of surface water sources (lakes and rivers). Thus, the Northern Dvina River in principle shouldn't be used as a source of drinking water because of the pollution from the pulp-and-paper industry in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, Komi Republic and Vologda Oblast. And still people living in Arkhangelsk and Novodvinsk are supplied with water from this river.

The plan for building a new structure of the NArFU has been developed

The action plan and time schedule for merging the Pomor State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk timber college named after the Emperor Peter I and the Severodvinsk Technical College with the Northern Arctic Federal University has been developed. The staff, students and trainees from the reorganized schools will be transferred to the new Federal University by March this year. The University was given the name of M.V. Lomonosov.

The German twin city of Arkhangelsk

Oberburgermeister of Emden (Germany) Mr. Alvin Brinkmann and the Mayor of Arkhangelsk Viktor Pavlenko signed a Protocol to the twin-cities cooperation agreement. According to the Protocol the cities will continue to exchange experiences on how to arrange the work of municipal authorities and social institutions. The German city Emden became a twin-city for Arkhangelsk more than 20 years ago. Joint projects for exchange of experience within education, medicine, culture, and sports helped to solve a lot of urgent problems.

Military satellite was lost but soon found

Carrier rocket “Rokot” with a military spacecraft was launched on 1 February 2011 from cosmodrome “Plesetsk” in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. 5 minutes later connection with the satellite was lost. However later they managed to fix connection with the lost military satellite “Geo-IK-2” and to put it into orbit which was close to the estimated one.

Industrial production index of the Oblast is increasing

In 2010 the industrial production index in the Arkhangelsk Oblast without the Nenets Autonomous Okrug increased by 15% (including the Nenets Okrug – by 2.3%). On the average industrial production index increased by 8.2% in 2010 in the Russian Federation.

Personnel for oil and gas projects shpuld be trained in Severodvinsk

Production capacity of Severodvinsk shipyards is sufficient to perform not only state defence orders but also civil projects such as building of offshore equipment needed for development of hydrocarbons. Hundreds of qualified specialists are required for technical maintenance of such equipment but Russia does not have enough experience and capacities for training personnel. Free production facilities of JSC “Severnij Rejd” can be used for establishment in Severodvinsk of a special centre for personnel training to provide technical maintenance for offshore equipment in the Arctic. A letter with a relevant proposal was sent by the city mayor to JSC “Gazprom”.

The EU will help to improve the quality of regional roads

International project to improve quality of roads has been launched in Arkhangelsk. Its budget is estimated to be almost 400 thousand Euro which has been received under Kolarctic programme. The project will last for 2.5 years. This is the first project on the level of the EU and the Russian Government which will be managed by a small enterprise – Arkhangelsk company “Avtodorozhnyi Consulting”. The second regional partner in the project is “Arkhangelskavtodor”. One of the project aims is to make remote settlements more accessible for business and social services.

“Nordavia” ranks high among Russian air companies according to the results of 2010

“Nordavia” Air Company took the 8th place among 35 Russian air companies according to the results of 2010. It carried 1.4 million passengers, thus demonstrating the growth by 27.5 % comparing to 2009.

The region is not able to keep the youth

Young people continue to migrate out of the Arkhangelsk Oblast in the amount of 5000 people per year. In the middle of 2004 a law “On Youth Employment” was adopted in the region, but it does not work. Ways to solve the problem were discussed at the meeting of the working group “On Youth Employment” in the regional Council.

 Music school of the Barents Region will not be closed down

Music school № 1 of the Barents Region in Arkhangelsk will not be closed down. Supervision authorities to ensure fire safety identified violations after examination of the school building. According to the Regional Government, the school will not be closed down; the personnel will not be fired or reduced. 1.2 million rubles were allocated from the regional budget for the fire alarm. Expected date when the refurbishment of the building will start is 2012.

WEEK 6 (February 7-13)

Arctic Forum will take place in Arkhangelsk this September

The Second International Arctic Forum “The Arctic – the Territory for Dialogue” will take place in on September 21-24 in NARFU with the support of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS). Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and the head of the Board of Trustees of the RGS, is expected to take part in the forum.

The Arkhangelsk region is improving its investment attractiveness

In 2010 the Arkhangelsk region ranked 3rd in the Northwestern Federal District in terms of dynamics of investments into fixed capital. The program for increasing the investment attractiveness of the Arkhangelsk region was adopted and a special procedure for working with investors was developed. Future plans include construction of industrial science parks, special platforms which are suitable for implementation of investment projects (with electric and thermal energy and water-supply systems). Currently three potential sites are being considered in Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk, and Velsk.

Demographic situation in the Arkhangelsk Region in 2010

Civil Registry Office of the Arkhangelsk Region summed up the results of the year 2010. The death rates remain high. In 2010 the number of marriages increased by 337 comparing to 2009. There is a tendency for people to get married at an older age. Dynamics of divorce rates seems to be the most favorable. In 2010 the number of marriages dissolved decreased by 609 comparing to 2009. Nevertheless the ration between divorces and marriages remains high – 53.1 %. Positive dynamics in birth rate was noted, it increased by 29 comparing to 2009. In 2010 15646 children were registered.

Villagers from Soyana are strongly against the development of diamond field

Villagers from Soyana wrote an open letter to the administration of the Arkhangelsk region in which they say their definite “no” to the development project of the diamond field named after V. Grib due to the fact that its developer, JSC “Arkhangelskgeoldobicha” does not take into account the local residents’ opinion. The information which was announced at the public hearings did not convince the residents of the environmental safety and feasibility of the project. Moreover the public hearings were conducted with several violations of the existing law.

What do Russian fishermen fear?

Over the last 3 years the level of fish consumption rose from 13 to 19 kilos per capita. The representatives of fishing and fish-processing industries are worried about the agreement on delimitation of sea territories and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean between the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Norway. They think that this agreement may have negative impact on domestic fishing industry in the western territories of the Barents Sea. Already last year the flow of sea products from Norway to Russia reached its peak point and was estimated to be more than 5 billion Norwegian krones. Norway supplies 144 countries with fish, but Russia is the main consumer.

International project on tourism development in the Barents Region

The first business meeting of the participants of the international project “State-private partnership in the sphere of tourism development in the Barents Region” (BART-project) took place in Arkhangelsk. Its main goals are to develop cooperation network within the framework of state-private partnership in the area of tourism in the Barents Region (Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway), to develop new transborder tourism products and activation of tourist flows within the Barents Region. The project is financed from the “ENPI Kolarctic” program signed between European Union and Russia. During the meeting the participants discussed the expected results of the project.

Unemployment rate went down

In January 2011 the number of the unemployed in the Arkhangelsk Oblast reduced by 420 people and amounted to 15.5 thousand people. In 2011 the positive tendency for the unemployment level to go down is expected to preserve. The yearly rate should not exceed 3.2%.

WEEK 7 (February 14-20)

The construction sector is on the rise

The construction sector of the Arkhangelsk Oblast is on the rise: in 2010 the growth of the construction volumes was more than 20%. Plans for housing construction in 2011 are even more ambitious – the Ministry of Construction of the Arkhangelsk Oblast has a task to build 350 thousand square meters of housing. Besides, in 2011 several large social facilities will be commissioned in the region.

 Governor Milkhalchuk met the delegation from Norway

Governor Ilya Milkhalchuk while meeting with the Norwegian delegation headed by Thorvald Stoltenberg suggested making Arkhangelsk a center for international discussions of the Arctic development issues. At the meeting the participants also discussed possible joint arrangements during the year.

Thorvald Stoltenberg, the first Honorary Doctor of the NArFU

Thorvald Stoltenberg was elected the first Honorary Doctor in the Northern Arctic Federal University. Mr. Stoltenberg also delivered a public lecture in the University focused on the improvement of cooperation within international policy and safety. During the lecture he informed the audience, that the Norwegian Government has decided to give 10 travel grants to N(Ar)FU students within 2 years. They will be paid to the best students according to the decision of the University with participation of the Barents Secretariat. At the same time, according to the decision made by the RF Ministries of Foreign affairs and Education the 10 quotas given for Norwegian students to study in Russia are given to N(Ar)FU, informed the Rector of the University.

Presentation of a book by a Norwegian author in Arkhangelsk

Presentation of a book by the Norwegian author Thor Robertsen “Stories from Vardø” was held in the Museum of artist and fairy tale writer Stepan Pisakhov. The arrangement was also decorated with music and songs performed by the Norwegian guests – singer Anne-Lise Berntsen, accordion player Jacob Mikkelsen, and “Suzyomje” folk group.

 Pomor Treaty will improve good neighbourly relations in the Barents Region

Pomor Treaty has been signed in Arkhangelsk – an international public document aimed to preserve the traditions of Pomor good neighbourhood between Northern counties of Russia and Norway, to develop the traditions of sustainable cooperation between people in the Pomor land and the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (BEAR). The Treaty parties are: Association of Pomors from Norway (Vardø), Association of Pomors from the Arkhangelsk Oblast (Arkhangelsk), Northern (Arctic) federal university, Museum Complex from the Northern Norway “Varanger-museum”, Arkhangelsk museum of wooden architecture “MalyeKorely”, Arkhangelsk regional office of the Russian national Society for protection of historical and cultural monuments. The document was also signed by the ex-Minister of foreign affairs of Norway Mr. Thorvald Stoltenberg, who emphasised that he would keep the Treaty implementation under his personal control.

Alcohol abuse is a great problem for the Pomor land

People from the Arkhangelsk Oblast suffer from alcohol abuse more than other Russians. The number of alcoholic psychosis cases is 1.5 times more in the Pomor land than the average Russian figure. Mostly men from 30 to 45 suffer from alcoholism. Besides 300 drug addicts and 161 inhalants addicts are officially registered in the regional medical institutions.

German Investor established pellets production in Nyandoma

A new innovative biotechnological production has been launched in Nyandoma to produce pellets with the purpose to solve the prioritized regional task of using biofuel as a source of energy. Pellets are produced from the wood-wastes of the local timber companies. The facilities have been built by a German investor. The products are expected to be exported to Germany, Great Britain, Denmark, and Sweden.

Shtokman is not environmentally friendly

Public expert group established under the initiative of WWF has finished studying the design documentation for the Shtokman project development. Based on the conclusions made by the experts WWF thinks that environmental safety of the Shtokman project is not ensured. The experts made around one and a half hundred significant remarks for the project. It is necessary to work harder on it and then execute another environmental expertise.

WEEK 8 (February 21-27)

The Northern Sea Route should be closed for the vessels with “exotic” crews

Perspectives for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) can be threatened by the uncontrolled access of foreign vessels. Lately there has been detected a number of serious accidents with the crews of foreign dry cargo vessels involved, since exotic crews even when sailing well-prepared vessels manage to cause emergency situations from time to time under conditions that are far from being extreme. In this case the best and the safest option is to transship cargo exceptionally by specialized vessels owned by Russian companies with Russian well-trained and prepared crews. Foreign vessels from southern parts of the world should be allowed to use the Route for occasional voyages only in the form of exception, and not as a rule.

Lomonosov anniversary will be celebrated with more than a hundred of events

The Government of the Arkhangelsk Oblast has approved the list of arrangements devoted to 300-th anniversary of the birth of M.V. Lomonosov. There are more than one hundred events on the international, federal and municipal level included in the document. Many of them are related to international cooperation in the development of the Arctic, development of science and education. June and November will be the busiest with happenings.

Zvyozdochka bought the assets of Krasnaya Kuznitsa

JSC SC Zvyozdochka has bought the assets of the JSC Shipyard Krasnaya Kuznitsa. Merging of the facilities of two shipyards (Arkhangelsk branch of SC Zvyozdochka «176th shipbuilding plant» and «Krasnaya Kuznitsa») will make it possible to perform the full cycle of repairing and modernization of vessels and ice-breakers form the Arctic basin, create new working places and provide more tax payments to the budgets of all levels. It is planned to start production of offshore equipment for the Shtokman project here. There are opinions that in the future military and defense production, which requires special access regime, will be concentrated in Severodvinsk, whereas all civil contracts will be moved to Arkhangelsk.

Belkomur: the road to Murmansk, not Arkhangelsk?

Railroad Belkomur which is supposed to connect the Urals with the White Sea should go to the Murmansk port, not to the Arkhangelsk one, so is said in the RF Ministry of Transport. Connection of Belkomur to Arkhangelsk can seriously “hinder the project”, since there are no guarantees that the plans for construction of the deep-sea harbor will be implemented in the city.