SUMMER 2006

• SISTER CITY/LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION VISITS ARCHANGEL

A five person Sister City/Legislative delegation visited the Archangel Region from June 23 to July 3, 2006. The delegation included Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, Maine State Representative John Brautigam, and Archangel Committee members Carol Lord, Ray Pelletier and Neale Duffett. The Legislative portion of the trip dealt with the many issues involved in the implementation of Russian Federal Law 131, pursuant to which the Archangel Oblast has subdivided the Oblast's 27 large Districts into 299 smaller municipalities. The delegation had a series of in-depth panel and roundtable discussions over several days with the Regional Assembly of Deputies (Duma), the Regional Executive Administration (Vice Governor), and the City Officials of the Cities of Archangel, Novodvinsk and other municipalities. In addition, the delegation had a larger meeting with the Archangel Oblast Council of Municipalities, attended by representatives of about 30 cities and towns from the Oblast. Media interest was fairly intense, resulting in a number of television and radio interviews and newspaper articles. There was a lot of interest in the topics of local budgeting and taxation, the concept of professional town/city managers, and ways to get local populations energized to become involved in solving local problems at the local level. After the program on the mainland, the entire delegation flew out to the beautiful Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea. As you know, a delegation of Solovki municipal and museum officials were hosted in Maine by our Committee in December 2005 under the Open World/Sister Cities International program. In addition to discussions of topics raised by our December visitors, the delegation conducted a roundtable discussion with members of the Island administration and Town Council on the topic of local self-government. Many of the same problems experienced on Maine islands are present on Solovki to a greater degree, and they need help with issues of basic services and revenue enhancement. Other activities on Solovki included a 3 hour tour of the huge Monastery and Fortress; visits to the island school, medical clinic and power station; rowing through some of the many in­land lakes and canals constructed by monks long ago; visiting an amazing botanical garden; traveling by small boat and a rubber zodiac to an uninhabited remote island to see ancient stone labyrinths; and, of course, midnight fishing on the White Sea where Carol proved to be the best angler!

Everyone that the delegation met was eager to continue and expand the relationships between Maine and the Archangel Region. Among the countless plans and hopes for the future are:

1. a Legal delegation to Maine November 12 to 19, 2006 (FMI: Neale Duffett 775-1515),

2. a Sister City delegation to Archangel in April 2007 for "America Week",

3. a Legal delegation to Archangel in May 2007,

4. a Sister City delegation to Archangel for City Day in June 2007,

5. a science teacher and interpreter coming to Maine to participate in the Maine Lake Conservancy Institutes' "Water Science Academy" in July 2007,

6. a Legal delegation to Maine in the Fall of 2007,

7. a Sister City delegation to Archangel for City Day in June 2009 for the 425^th Anniversary of the founding of that great city,

8. outbound aid to Archangel city orphanages, Dr. Nikoli Sosnin's maternity hospital in Archangel, and Dr. Nikoli Shiryaev's Medical Clinic on Solovki,

9. another trip by the Archangel Rock Band "Blind Vandal" to the USA,

10.  improved relations between the Archangel Regional and the Portland City Libraries,

11. a formal relationship between the Solovki Weather Station and the Mount Washington Observatory (FMI: Dennis Marrotte at 854-3763),

12. re-starting high school student exchanges (USAID FLEX program),

13. formation of a "Friends of Solovki" NGO here in the USA, and

14. a relationship between the Maine State Archives and the Solovki Museum.

• UPCOMING EVENTS

Send e-mail to webmaster with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 The Archangel Committee
Last modified: September 16, 2007