VZCZCXRO2437
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDBU RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHLN RUEHNAG RUEHPB RUEHPOD
RUEHYG
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 
 
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