Red Corner: Baikal Spared

by Neil Woodburn on

The likelihood of the Russian government making a pro-environmental decision is just as unlikely as the Bush administration making one. And yet, I was extraordinarily pleased to discover that Vladimir Putin himself has out-greened his American colleague with a very unexpected announcement yesterday.

Mr. Putin has finally listened to reason and rejected the decision to build an oil pipeline near Lake Baikal. We’ve posted many times about this majestic expanse of water in Siberia that is flush with endemic species and 20% of the world’s fresh water supply. As of last month, plans had been approved to move forward with a pipeline that if ruptured, could destroy the fragile ecosystem of one of this planet’s most unique bodies of water.

Fortunately, Putin had a little talk with Nikolai Laverov, the deputy head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who helped convince him to move the pipeline further north and spare this amazing resource the possibility of ecological catastrophe.

Do you think it was just coincidence that yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl? Hmmm… I don’t think so.

Red Corner: Chernobyl Anniversary

by Neil Woodburn on

Twenty years ago today, something so horrendous occurred in the Soviet Union that the swath of earth on which it happened, as well as thousands of miles in every direction, remains unlivable even today.

That tragedy was, of course, the Chernobyl disaster. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident. For those displaced from their homes, suffering from cancer, and still mourning the loss of family and friends who succumbed to the accident this, is not a happy day.

The Chernobyl accident affected 5 million people and is expected to kill upwards of 9,000 after all the side-effects of radiation poisoning runs its course. The radiation cloud, which swept over much of Europe, has also left a dead zone of 5,800 square miles where no one can live, raise crops, or otherwise exist. Tour groups with Geiger counters in hand are now gingerly exploring the region but only for limited amounts of time and only if the winds are blowing in a safe direction.

A number of commemorative efforts will be held today to honor the “liquidators” who were forcibly sent in to clean up the mess. The commemorations will, of course, be matched by protests against nuclear energy and inadequate financial support for those still suffering from the tragedy.

April 26 remains a black day on this planet no matter what anniversary is being commemorated. When mankind can so easily destroy a small chunk of earth and poison it for thousands of years, we need to all stop and think for a moment; the world really doesn’t need any more liquidators.

Red Corner: Kalashnikov Proud of Kalashnikov

by Neil Woodburn on

The world is truly a global village when you can buy American Coca Cola in Bangladesh, watch Bollywood movies in Canada, eat French mustard in Bangor, and use Russian weapons to kill people in Iraq. I was a bit appalled today when I ran across an article about the designer of what is probably Russia’s most successful export-the Kalashnikov assault rifle-boast how wonderful his baby is performing in Iraq.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was given the challenge in 1947 of designing a gun that could perform across all of the Soviet Union’s varied landscape-from the deserts of Kazakhstan to the frozen seaports of Murmansk. Unfortunately, he did far too good of a job. With its signature banana-clip design, the Kalashnikov has become the weapon of choice for revolutionaries in the African desert, drug runners in the Colombian jungles, insurgents in Iraq, and practically anywhere else someone needs a cheap, easy-to-operate assault rifle that functions under extreme conditions.

If you see one on your travels, you’re probably not in a very safe place. Sadly, you’re nearly guaranteed to see one if you travel in third world countries-it is estimated that are approximately one billion Kalashnikovs on this planet. Now that’s something to be proud of, Comrade Kalashnikov! You and Charlton Heston should get a room together.

Red Corner: Walk Around the World Ended by Russian Red Tape

by Neil Woodburn on

Karl Bushby’s epic journey to walk around the world looks like it has come to an end thanks to heartless Russian authorities who have decided to deport the adventurer. Bushby has spent the last seven-and-a-half years walking 17,000 miles from the tip of South America, up through North America, Canada and Alaska before completing a very rare journey across the frozen Bering Strait and into Russia-where he was quickly arrested on his way to the nearest town to process his visa paperwork.

While it was hoped that Russian authorities would make an exception for the adventurer, it has just been learned that a local court has found him guilty of entering Russia illegally. Bushby will be deported and not allowed back into Russia for five years, his Herculean journey defeated by Russian bureaucracy and red tape.

Red Corner: Moscow to Poland by Thumb

by Neil Woodburn on

Hitchhiking is usually the last travel resort available. I’ve had to travel in such manner in a number of countries and was not only fortunate enough to have never run into problems, but actually met some wonderful people along the way (of course, I’ve never hitchhiked in America and I strongly recommend you don’t either).

And so it was with a bit of enjoyment that I ran across the following story about a Russian who was invited to attend a student conference in Lodz, Poland. Unfortunately, he lived on Sakhalin Island-an island in the Pacific Ocean just north of Japan that is actually closer to Seattle, Washington than Moscow. The poor student had only enough money to fly to Moscow and then he hitched it from there.

Take a moment to read his story. It’s not the most well-written piece, but it’s full of misadventures, bribery and even human smuggling. He didn’t wake up in a tub full of ice missing a kidney, but he did experience an entirely different level of hitchhiking than I ever did in places like Ireland.