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TRAGIC EXPLOSION IN ARCHANGEL
At about 3:25 a.m. on Tuesday, March 16, 2004, a huge gas explosion destroyed a
large part of a nine-story apartment building on Cosmonaut Street near the
center of the City of Archangel. The explosion shook the entire city and killed
58 men, women and children (some as young as two years old). Many of our friends
in Archangel have reported that Archangel is merely a "large village" and thus
everyone knew someone who was killed, injured or made homeless. The explosion
(apparently caused by men scavenging pipe fittings) was widely reported in the
Russian and American media. The City of Archangel has established a relief fund
for the victims; our Archangel Committee will be making a contribution in May.
Finally, on April 16, 2004, the Maine Legislature unanimously passed a Joint
Resolution for transmission to Archangel which extended "deepest sympathy and
condolences to the people of Archangel on the loss of life and casualties
suffered by that community".
LAW PROFESSORS VISIT MAINE
In mid April 2004, four law professors from Archangel visited Maine on the U.S.
Library of Congress based "Open World Program". Visiting Maine were Pomor Law
Dean Nadezhka Chertova, Pomor Deputy Dean Dimitri Koksharov (Severodvinsk
Branch), Archangel State Technical University Law Deputy Dean Ruslan Bodnaruk
and A.S.T.U. Law Professor Tatiana Malaya. They were hosted primarily at the
University of Maine School of Law in Portland where they attended many classes
and engaged in counterpart discussions with Maine law professors. Indeed, the
Maine Law School and Pomor Law Department signed an Agreement on future
cooperation. The delegation was also exposed to the Cumberland County Jail,
Federal Court in Portland and the Maine Legislature and Supreme Judicial Court
in Augusta. Finally, the group met with a group of Mainers who were preparing a
trip to Archangel of their own and helped plan the program (see next story).
Socially, the delegation was also active: members of the Portsmouth/Severodvinsk
Connection and the Waterville Kotlas Connection met with our visitors and
several members of our Archangel Committee attended a number of social events
(which often concluded with much toasting and singing).
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DELEGATION TO ARCHANGEL
Maine District Court Judge David Griffiths led a 7 member legal delegation to
Archangel during the last week of April 2004. Also on the trip were Maine
Violence Intervention Partnership Director Faye Luppi, Cumberland County
Assistant District Attorney Anne Berlind, Maine Law School Legal Clinic Director
Valerie Stanfill, South Portland Police Officer Allen Andrews, Portland Family
Crisis Services Executive Director Lois Reckitt, and Maine Pre-Trial Case
Manager/DV Educator Shawn LeGrega. The team conducted an intense 3 day
conference in Archangel focusing on "Developing a Community Response to Domestic
Violence"; attendees included judges, lawyers, law professors, crisis workers,
counselors, prosecutors and police. Members of the delegation also visited
courts, law schools, police stations, and a DV Crisis Center.
HIGH SCHOOL SUBCOMMITTEE ENERGIZED!!!
Our High School Subcommittee has the goal of reinstating the simultaneous high
school exchange in the spring of 2005. Falmouth High School has agreed to be the
host school here in Maine. Several Mainers who have been on prior high school
exchanges to Archangel are involved, including Abbie Lee, Amy Kersteen, Alison
Fiser and Greg Sundik. Also involved are Dan Glover, Susan Love, Dennis Marrotte,
Jean Souliere and Christy Hensley. FMI: Dan Gover at
dglover@maine.rr.com
FORMER EXCHANGE STUDENT IMPROVED
As you may recall, our Summer 2002 Newsletter reported that Zach Stegeman of
Yarmouth had been seriously injured in an Oregon skiing accident (Zach had
visited Archangel on our March 1997 High School Exchange). Fortunately, Zach
tells us that he is "doing astoundingly better now": he's working in a sports
store and coaches the Cape Elizabeth ski team! We send best wishes to Zach at
z-free@excite.com.
UPCOMING DELEGATIONS
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May 16 to 24 - Ray Pelletier, a Federal Bankruptcy
Judge and two other lawyers will visit Archangel to conduct a bankruptcy
conference in cooperation with the Archangel Oblast Arbitration Court.
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June 1 to 8 - Maine D.O.T. engineers Bob LaRoche and
Dale Peabody will visit Archangel.
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June 12 to 19 - Kotlas Mayor Alexander Shashurin and
three other municipal leaders will be hosted in Maine by the Waterville
Sister City Committee.
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June 25 to July 3 - Maine D.O.T. Commissioner David
Cole and engineers Cliff Curtis and Greg Nadeau will visit Archangel.
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July 26 to August 6 - Two Archangel D.O.T. engineers
will be hosted in Maine by the Maine D.O.T.
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Late September - A small DV/Duma group from Archangel
will visit Maine.
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October 23 to 30 - An eight member Arbitration
Court/bankruptcy group from Archangel will visit Maine and New Hampshire.
NEWS/NOTES FROM THE ARCHANGEL REGION
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Nikoli Kiselev was recently inaugurated as the new Governor
of the Archangel Oblast (he received 75% of the vote in a run-off election
in late March 2004)
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On February 16, 2004, Russian President Vladimir Putin
observed Naval Exercises in the Barents Sea from the nuclear submarine
Arkhangelsk (TK- 17); two days later he observed a successful satellite
launch from Archangel's Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
BOOKNOTE: RUSSIAN SIDESHOW
Committee member Robert Willett's book about America's World War I
intervention in Archangel is now available at on-line booksellers or you can
get an autographed/inscribed copy directly from Robert at 4423 Sea Gull
Drive, Merrit Island FL 32954 or willettr@bellsouth.net ($31.95).
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