Miners' Appeal in the Russian Internet

[Giuliano Vivaldi]

Yes, fully agree. Mezhdurechensk to me is more than just a name but a town where I taught English in  2002/ 2003. I was based in the neighbouring Novokuznetsk but would go once every two weeks to teach some classes in Mezhdurechensk. I have extraordinarily happy memories of the town and the news in the past week has deeply shocked me. I remember that on my first trip to Mezhdurechensk I was told that this was at the centre of events that eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet system. It was here, I was told, that the first miners strikes led by independent trade unions began. 

Unfortunately, the end of the Soviet system has not led to any real improvements for the miners of this region. Rather the list of mining explosions in this region and the casualties in the past decade or more makes horrific reading. Three or four years ago, well over a hundred miners lost their lives in Novokuznetsk and neighbouring Osinniki was also the site of another explosion with as far as I remember fifty deaths before that (but these are only the more significant explosions- many explosions with lower loss of life rarely get reported with more than a brief news item). I can only imagine the level of anger this has caused (and the fact that these explosions are a recurring feature), especially because much of this appears to be caused by a system in which miners in order to receive a human wage are expected to work unhealthy amounts of overtime and hence risk their own safety.

Some reports have suggested that even members of the state duma have been turned back by the police and couldn't reach the Kuzbass region. 

I, too, would like to add my voice and my full support to the miners of the Kuzbass in their struggle for social justice and would also like to hear of any ideas as to how one could express this soldiarity.

Giuliano Vivaldi



> Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 15:18:11 -0400
> From: meersono at GEORGETOWN.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Miners' Appeal in the Russian Internet
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> 
> How can we support these miners? I wish we probably wrote a letter, or gathered some signatures or something. After all, that is how Solidarity was born and started thriving, and, in fact, how anything successful about Perestroyka started as well. If anyone on our list has any idea or venue to support them, please post it.
> Olga Meerson
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>   options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                     http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/
Do you have a story that started on Hotmail? Tell us now
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------