R 150716Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1057
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION
EPA WASHINGTON DC
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK

UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000136 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV PHUM RS
SUBJECT: TAIGA NATIVE VILLAGE KRASNIY YAR: EVERY DAY IS A CRISIS 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary.  In the 1930's Stalin relocated many indigenous 
minorities of Primorye and Khabarovskiy Krai to remote northern 
areas.  One such town is Krasniy Yar.  The remote town is an 
eleven hour drive from Vladivostok, the last four hours over a 
rough snow road (zimniki) cut through the woods.  CG and Pol FSN 
traveled to Krasniy Yar on December 10-12 and stayed with an 
indigenous family from the "Udege" minority.  End Summary. 
 
A PEOPLE IN THE "RED BOOK" 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U)  The Udege people share the village of Krasniy Yar with 
members of the Nenets, Chukchi, and Orochi indigenous people. 
Traditionally, the Udege were hunters, but they were also 
co-opted into growing opium for the Chinese as well as gathering 
ginseng.  They are included in the "Red Book" of indigenous 
people of Russia, numbering about 2,000 total throughout the Far 
East.  In the "Peoples of the Red Book" publication it is noted 
that "Udege habitats were incorporated into Russia in 1860, but 
for a long time the real rulers were the Chinese traders of furs 
and ginseng, to whom many Udeghes were hopelessly indebted. 
Russian peasants began to settle in the Ussuri region sometime 
after 1883, but this colonization did not much concern the 
Udeges, who roamed deep in the forests. On the contrary, 
according to the observations of many travellers of that time, 
the Udeges' attitude towards the Russians was remarkably 
friendly, since the Russians displaced the exploitative Chinese 
traders. The Russian influence on Udege folk culture was also 
less than that on other Amur peoples. The women's folk costume, 
as well as the men's hunting garb and equipment, were relatively 
well preserved." 
 
THE SNOW ROAD LINKS VILLAGE TO THE OUTSIDE 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (U)  Only one village separates Krasniy Yar from Luchegorsk, 
the nearest town at the end of the snow road 100 kilometers to 
the south.  Local residents remember well when the town was only 
accessible by helicopter.  With the snow road open in winter 
they have access to goods and a means to communicate with the 
outside world; however, the small village faces a host of 
problems, some brought on by the road itself.  Along with 
poachers and city dwellers who deplete taiga resources in 
summer, the road has brought forest fires and trash.  The 
unpaved road is also used in summer, but after spring rains it 
becomes nearly impassable for weeks at a time.  The Rayon 
Administration, located in Luchegorsk, is responsible for road 
maintenance, but locals say the administration does a poor job 
of it.  The village itself maintains some twenty to thirty 
kilometers of the road using its own resources, but cannot 
maintain the entire 100 kilometer stretch. 
 
¶4. (U)  On the way to Krasniy Yar we passed perhaps a half a 
dozen other cars and several Kamaz trucks hauling logs using 
double trailers.  There is enough traffic from the outside world 
to support eight small shops in the village.  The store we 
visited had room for a maximum of four shoppers at a time. 
While Krasniy Yar's residents have access to satellite 
television and exotic tropical fruit juices in their shops, 
there is no internet and no cell phone service.  The once-a-week 
bus to Luchegorsk is the only means for Krasniy Yar residents to 
receive advanced medical attention in rayon polyclinics. 
Workers in the tiny, three-bed, Krasniy Yar medical clinic were 
last paid in August, four months ago, and medical care is 
extremely basic. 
 
HUNTING, POACHING AND HANDICRAFTS KEEP VILLAGE ALIVE 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5. (U)  There are few private vehicles, though many residents 
own Buran or "Blizzard" snowmobiles, which cost over five 
thousand USD.  A snowmobile is more important for most residents 
since the taiga is the source of life.  We were shown sable and 
squirrel pelts as well as handicrafts using local furs and wood. 
 Pelts these days fetch precious little, with the sable pelts, 
about the size of a catcher's mitt, selling for only 40 or 50 
USD and the squirrel for only fifty cents to a dollar a pelt. 
Tiger bones and skins as well as bear paws are sold to the 
Chinese by poachers, but that was one subject that was not 
discussed openly in detail by locals. 
 
¶6. (U)  To supplement the local economy, USAID has provided seed 
money for the handicraft business.  Some local women are finding 
a market for their hand sewn native souvenirs in Japan. 
Vladimir Shirko, chair of the local community, described the 
USAID project as the first program to have a real impact on the 
community.  Even with the USAID support though, one local woman 
said the town was dying. 
 
TIMBER AND TIGERS OFF LIMITS TO LOCALS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U)  Krasniy Yar is surrounded by birch, cedar, and pine 
forest, but residents are prohibited from logging nearby.  To 
obtain firewood they are required to seek a permit 20 kilometers 
away and log in a forest there, rather than in the surrounding 
woods, which belongs to the "Tierney Les" logging concern.  One 
huge downed tree log might last a week as firewood for a local 
home during winter.  During this visit, the temperature was 
minus 37C.  Even with the cold, local residents believe winters 
are generally getting warmer, disrupting hunting patterns and 
disturbing the local ecosystem.  There are still tigers, bears, 
and wild pigs in the forest.  Residents consider it a "sin" 
however to kill a tiger, saying the hunter who does kill a tiger 
will soon die himself. 
 
HOMESTAY HIGHLIGHTS PROBLEMS FOR INDIGENOUS VILLAGERS 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶8. (U)  Shirko was open and direct about the town's challenges. 
Although ethnically Ukrainian, he is a strong supporter of 
preserving Udege culture and language.  He said Krasniy Yar has 
a population of 650 "on average," compared with some 800 people 
in Soviet times.  He said that for most residents, life has 
become increasingly difficult.  While the rich natural beauty of 
the area is evident, our hosts complained that they could not 
actively attract tourists because they needed a federal permit, 
which has not been issued.  Shirko is hoping to preserve the 
hunter lifestyle of the Udege and other native people, but he 
sees deforestation from big timber operations as a real threat. 
The language is also dying out, and very few families speak the 
Udege language at home. 
 
¶9. (U)  The local community, headed by Shirko, does its best to 
support residents, especially pensioners, by providing meat and 
other food products as well as firewood in winter.  The 
community has built 14 new wooden houses for locals during last 
ten years.  Shirko said that the community manages to purchase 
fuel for the town's ancient generator, which supplies the town 
with electrical power 20 hours per day. 
 
¶10. (U)  The town's biggest scandal is the state of its eighty 
million ruble new schoolhouse.  The schoolhouse was built just 
two years ago by an outside contractor and already the roof 
leaks and light fixtures have come crashing down in classrooms. 
The school briefly had internet access but could not pay the 
bills.  Shirko is considering taking the contractor to court to 
force the contractor to renovate the building.  He is also 
considering court action to preserve the local forest from 
industrial timber operations as planned by the Tierny Les 
company and other logging companies. 
 
NEITHER CULTURAL REVIVAL NOR ASSIMILATION WORKING WELL 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶11. (U)  The town is also hoping to resurrect more Udege and 
other native cultures but the "Dom Kulturi" closed 20 years ago 
and the school director has elected not to include native 
language in the curriculum.  Given that there are no teachers 
for chemistry, biology, mathematics, or English, it is perhaps 
understandable that teachers are focusing solely on the other 
two of the three "R's."  Shirko lamented the school's decision, 
saying "no language, no culture" although the school did put on 
a display of traditional dance for the Consulate visitors. 
 
¶12. (U)  The other controversial issue was whether to allow an 
orthodox church to open in Krasniy Yar.  According to locals, 
the church sent "a drunk" who failed to impress the local 
population.  The church was given a registration permit, but 
there has been no progress towards building a church as the 
local population made it clear that the pastor was not welcome. 
 
¶13. (U)  Vladimir Shirko is nostalgic for the Soviet days when 
"they didn't touch our woods and the river was healthy."  Now, 
fishermen come from Khabarovsk in the summer and take hundreds 
of kilos of fish, leaving few fish for the locals.  Vladimir 
said that thirty years ago no one froze to death, no one went 
hungry and there was education and medical care for everyone. 
Thirty percent of town residents are pensioners.  The oldest 
resident is 87.  He spoke a mix of Udege and Russian and 
appeared to be in good health when we met him in the local shop. 
 
¶14. (U)  Two small towns close by Krasniy Yar were Soviet 
logging settlements. Since `perestroika', their residents have 
been jobless, and survive mainly by poaching.  Few of their 
residents have the resources to move to another town for work. 
 
CHINA CONNECTION STILL STRONG 
----------------------------- 
 
¶15. (U)  Most goods come from China, including fruits, 
vegetables and clothing, but locals still find many of their 
needs met from hunting, fishing, and local gardens.  At our host 
family home the dinner included wild mushrooms and fern from the 
forest, and jam made from strawberries from their own garden. 
The home was warm, but there was no running water and the 
outhouse was as basic as it could be. 
 
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS? 
----------------------- 
 
¶16. (U)  Residents say they don't exactly feel forgotten.  They 
have made their case to federal and kray authorities for better 
medical care, protection for and access to the local forest, and 
money to renovate the school.  But the answers they get from 
central authorities are discouraging.  They feel discriminated 
against and are desperate for solutions.  That they discussed 
their problems so openly with foreigners making a brief visit 
shows how determined they are to make their case to anyone 
willing to listen.  But there problems are complicated and date 
back a long time.  In the school lobby there are portraits of 
various Russian leaders.  President Medvedev has the most 
prominent portrait, but nearby is a portrait of Stalin, the 
"founder" of Krasniy Yar. 
 
¶17. (U)  We wondered if the town's overwhelming local problems 
were compounded by global issues.  Town Chief Vladimir Shirko 
was asked if the tiny settlement was at all feeling the effects 
of the global economic crisis.  He laughed and said that in 
Krasniy Yar, every day is a crisis.  At the very least, the town 
has a committed public servant trying to find ways for the town 
to survive. 
 
ARMBRUSTER