RJC Monitor - 07.11.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress

RUSSIAN JEWISH CONGRESS PROTESTS AGAINST INDIGNANT DESTRUCTION OF JEWISH CEMETERY IN GRODNO

On the 7th of July Russian Jewish Congress stated in announce its dudgeon about events taking place in Belarusian town Grodno where the only one municipal Jewish cemetery is being savagely destroyed. The announce particularly says: “The cemetery is more then 300 years old. Its land is designed for widening and modernization of the stadium to fit UEFA standards in nearest future. Remains of buried people are just being thrown away onto tarpaulin along the fence for municipal officials refuse to detach a premise for their preserving and reburying.”

There is a natural question, what is more important for Belarusian officials today - to make arrangements at the stadium to fit UEFA standards or respect to buried citizens in the destroying cemetery including victims of Hitler’s genocide?

Publishing announcement RJC appealed to Belarusian president Aleksander Lukashenko to get involved into the situation and to make an order to stop insult the memory of people buried in the Jewish cemetery.

Letters appealing to take part in the destiny of the destroying cemetery were send to Russian President Vladimir Putin, several Israeli politicians including Avoda party leader Shimon Peres with Belarusian roots, and to leaders of Jewish organizations in Europe and the US.

OPEN FORUM WAS ABOUT ATTACK ONTO YUKOS AND THE END OF THE EPOCH

On the 10th of July club Open Forum held its out-of-turn session in Moscow hotel Savoi. The stated name of the meeting “Political and power measures in the big Russian economy: context and consequences” indirectly reflected the topic discussed at the session: attack onto Yukos as a whole and its directors particularly. Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Leonid Nevzlin were considered at the session at the same context as Vladimir Gusinski and Boris Berezovski who experienced sharp conflicts with the power.

The situation is spicy for Russian Jewish Congress for Vladimir Gusinski was its first president and Leonid Nevzlin was the second one. Maybe, this was a reason to invite the third RJC president Evgueni Satanovski as an expert, who performed one of the first speeches.

Hi did not pour oil on the flame of discussion. In distinction from Grigori Yavlinski, Mark Urnov, Aleksey Kara-Murza and several other experts who pointed out the threat of putsch of security officers, stop of foreign investment, collapse of Russian economic rating, fall of the stock market etc, RJC president’s comments were more tranquil. He noted Russia still lives according to Asian rather then European rules and its traditions mean centre to dominate regions and central power to dominate business. He emphasized the situation around Yukos “corresponded the dialog between Ivan Grozny and prince Kurbski or between Peter the Great and boyars” and current relations between power vertical and oligarchs not closest to the power was not anything new. The West according to RJC president will work in Russia with anyone as it worked with the USSR in Stalin’s times and with China of Mao Dzedun. Satanovski emphasized it would not matter for the Western companies who possesses natural resources – private business or state officials. State officials can be preferred for they are cheaper and do not pretend to be partners in management. Beside concession of Soviet territories shows illusion of the Western “fidelity to principals” of human rights and liberty of native population if Russia does not have strict conflict with the West.

“System of the mutual interests of different clans, economic and political groups taking into view their roles and importance of internal and external relations can be changed as well as analogical Western systems can be changed in the distinction of Russian mythology, - RJC president said. – Part of Russian political elite is striving to get an access to natural resources although it was late to take part in their distribution either it was dealing that time with other questions or it was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, but it is not the sign the epoch to be over”.

Finishing the speech Satanovski noted that Khodorkovski’s precedent could be compared with Rockefeller’s precedent. The most powerful oligarch in the motherland of capitalism had economic and political ambitions close to the state’s potential and was “separated” while his empire Standard Oil was divided by force. Modern anti-trust law in the USA is based on this precedent resulted America as it is now. And whenever we like it or no it is the most powerful state in the world. Satanovski emphasized this reasons might have caused moderate reaction to this case from leaders of economic community and from President.

Notably this “calm” reaction caused several experts to be shocked, but speaking about dark times in Russia and about the end of the liberal epoch they did not forget to mention the breakdown of the sequent conference and the monument to well-known liberal prince Dolgorukov was suspended to be opened because it is financed by Yukos.

KHAZAR FORTRESSES UNDER THE THREAT

The expedition of Jewish University in Moscow examined in the framework of Khazar Project Khazar fortresses on the bank of the Don saved after construction of the Tsimlianskoye reservoir not far away from famous Sarkel described by many medieval authors. On the 10th of July the expedition returned to Moscow. Archeologist dealing with Khazar fortresses Valeri Fliorov and JUM professor, Khazar Project coordinator Vladimir Petrukhin took part in the expedition. Conclusions are disappointing.

There are three main Khazar fortresses in the Low Don. These are Sarkel, Pravoberezhnaya Tsimlianskaya and Semikarakorskaya. All of them are known from XVIII-XIX centuries and have unique features of fortification and constructive materials. They were in excellent conditions up to the middle of the XX century. Disaster for Sarkel and Pravoberezhnaya Tsimlianskaya fortresses came after construction of the Tsimlianskoye reservoir. Sarkel was flooded completely and inapproachable for investigations. Condition of the fortress after fifty years in water is unknown. Scientists think it is necessary to start monitoring of Sarkel and its surroundings and it is real for the reservoir is not too deep. The investigation would result invaluable material to make forecasts about safety of archeological monuments in places to be flooded by reservoirs not only in Russia but in other countries where ancient brick constructions are situated, for instance in the Middle and Central Asia, in the Middle East, Northern Africa and other regions. Russian science does not have such experiences yet.

Pravoberezhnaya Tsimlianskaya fortress does not have analogs in Khazar country by planning features. It has eight towers and divided into three sectors. It was erected from square blocks of white limestone. The destiny of the monument is tragic. It was not flooded and stayed on the bank of the reservoir. The bank is built of friable sand and incompetent sandstones, eroded by waves and wind. The cliff over the bank 50 meters high is visually destroying. The Eastern vallum has been vanished almost completely by 2003. Its remains hang on the cliff. One of the Eastern towers might have been disappeared and it could be corner tower. If the reservoir continues advancing with the same speed to Pravoberezhnaya fortress half of it will vanish after 50 years. Unorganized tourists aggravate the situation destroying few cropping out fragments of the Eastern vallum. They destroyed completely basis of the Southeastern tower and eight-meters long part of the vallum explored in 1987-1988 and 1990 and been at that time in satisfactory condition.

The last measure to save Pravoberezhnaya fortress is to conduct diggings in advance of demolition process for it seems to be impossible to fix the bank in current economic conditions.

Semikarakorskaya fortress is situated 120 km lower by the Don’s flow. It is the unique fortification for Khazar country. Square fortress with square citadel equal to four Sarkels by its size was erected from the raw brick only. There are remains of buildings from encaustic brick covered by roofing tile in the citadel. Monuments are in excellent conditions and can be a museum without extraordinary financial investments.

The unique place where Semikarakorskaya fortress is situated saved it from anthropogenic and natural demolition. The threat appeared in the spring 2003 when the roadway started to be constructed along the Northern border of the fortress. As a result the court is getting opened. It is impossible to predict consequences. The real threat is reclamation along the roadway, construction of houses and buildings.

One more fortress from the white stone was opened in one kilometer from the Pravoberezhnaya fortress in 1999. It is situated in identical geological conditions (on solid sandstones) on the bank of the reservoir and is destroying dramatically too. The crumbling monument should be brought to notice. Otherwise the fortress can be lost for the science.

There is another threat for Pravoberezhnaya Tsimlianskaya, Kamyshevskaya and Semikarakorskaya fortresses. They all are situated in beautiful places and Pravoberezhnaya and Kamyshevskaya’s surroundings became favorite places for Volgodonsk and Tsimliansk citizens to have rest. In conditions of legislative instability in Russian Federation there can be construction of hotels, dachas etc around the archeological objects. These monuments are not included into agricultural lands what provides their capture to be unpunished and inconvertible.

Russian Ministry of Culture as well as Ministry of Culture in Rostov region does not take care about conditions and protection of Khazar fortresses in the Low Don. The only hope to save fortresses and provide conditions for investigations is to give them status of archeological monument. Semikarakorskaya fortress should have status of the federal monument, Pravoberezhnaya Tsimlianskaya should be regional monument. It is necessary to make additional research to define status of Kamyshevskaya fortress and to delimit its borders.

Real preliminary steps to protect and study numbered monuments were realized in 2002-2003 in the framework of the Khazar project. Urgent measure is diggings in the Pravoberezhnaya Tsimlianskaya fortress.