EMERGENCY AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

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EMERGENCY AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Tribuna, September 13, 2000, p. 1

There has been a serious incident at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant, not far from Yekaterinburg. Fortunately, this incident has not led to tragedy. According to specialists, the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant acquitted itself honorably. Following a power surge, an emergency system at the power plant shut down the turbines. The reactor was shut down manually.

According to senior nuclear power engineer Boris Vasilyev, personnel at the power plant performed well, and the reactor has demonstrated its reliability.

The threat of a disaster has been averted. Radiation levels in the town of Zarechny are normal.

A MISSILE DIVISION HAS BEEN DISARMED

Trud, September 13, 2000, p. 2

Electricity companies in Ivanov have cut off power to a division of the Strategic Missile Forces. Apartment blocks, two schools, kindergartens and even a hospital have had their power cut off. The companies warned the commanders of the division about their decision ten minutes before the disconnection. The military base owes money to the power companies, but this is not its fault. Moreover, a state decree stipulates that units of the Strategic Missile Forces must not have their electricity disconnected.

AN ATTEMPT ON THE PRESIDENT?

Trud, September 13, 2000, p. 1

On Monday a car from the presidential motorcade rammed a Zhiguli car near the Triumphal Arch. The car carrying the president’s bodyguards flipped over after the collision.

The driver of the Zhiguli had tried to overtake the presidential motorcade, which was traveling at high speed along Kutuzovsky Prospect. A Mercedes from the motorcade rammed the Zhiguli in order to protect the car carrying the president. Those who are responsible for Putin’s security consider this incident rather serious. By the way, recently the numbers of the presidential bodyguards have been increased.

ATTEMPT ON CIS LEADER’S LIFE AVERTED

Tribuna, September 13, 2000, p. 1

Three weeks after the summit of CIS leaders in Yalta on August 17-18, it has been reported that preparations were being made for an assassination attempt on one of the CIS leaders. The crime was prevented thanks to the coordinated activities of the CIS special services. The name of the intended victim has not been released. The Yalta summit was attended by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.

Four Chechens suspected of planning the terrorist act have been detained.

PARLIAMENT TO RELOCATE TO ST. PETERSBURG?

Izvestia, September 13, 2000, p. 2

Construction of a new building to house the Parliament of the Union State of Russia and Belarus could start as soon as late 2001, if the relevant decree is signed by the Russian president. This was reported Monday by Pavel Borodin, Secretary of the Union State, and confirmed in the St. Petersburg City Administration. The building, with floor area of 450,000 square meters, is planned to be erected on Vasilyevsky Island. A 42 hectare plot of land has already been allocated for the site. The St. Petersburg Administration stresses that the work will be financed not from the federal budget, but through loans. State officials do not rule out the possibility that the new building will house the Russian Duma and Federation Council as well.

FBI CHIEF VISITS MOSCOW AGAIN

Izvestia, September 13, 2000, p. 2

For the third time this year, FBI Director Louis Free has arrived in Moscow on an official visit. As usual, senior Interior Ministry officials, who invited Free, do not comment on the themes of the talks. Nevertheless, both sides refer to these talks as out of the ordinary.

Our sources in Russian secret services assume that at the upcoming talks the sides will discuss “penetration of Russian organized crime into different regions of the world”, primarily the Baltic States, Nigeria, and South Africa. In a recent FBI report for the US Administration, the so-called Solntsevo crime gang is called the strongest in Eurasia, “in terms of its capital, influence, and control of finance”.

It is also possible that the FBI director will share with his Russian counterparts information about a Russian criminal group in the US involved in the murder of policeman Ralph Dolse in August 1997. A criminal known as Sasha Dlinny, linked with this crime, is accused of connections with the Solntsevo group and the 1995 murder of well-known Russian boxer Sergei Kobozev in Brooklyn. The FBI may need the assistance of the Interior Ministry in investigating this case.

According to unconfirmed reports, Free will also raise the question of the fate of Edmond Pope, a former US naval officer charged with espionage. Washington insists that Russia should release Pope. The FBI director may suggest swapping Pope for a Russian intelligence officer convicted in the US.

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