During the first half of 2005, Belgorod Oblast led the Central Black Earth region in terms of new immigrants. The number of people coming to Belgorod was eight times greater than flows coming into Voronezh and Lipetsk oblasts. During the same period, Kursk and Tambov oblasts registered population drops, according to the Belmedia news agency . The Belgorod Security Council has discussed the problems rising from the new migrants.

The type of migration affecting Belgorod has evolved in recent years and now consists mainly of labor migrants, according to the deputy head of the region's branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Sergei Nerubenko. As a result of current migration processes, twice as many people came to Belgorod as left during the first half of 2005. Arrivals in Belgorod typically come from the Far Eastern, Siberian, the Northwestern, and the Urals federal districts. These areas contributed 72.8 percent of the overall number of migrants. About 60 percent of the migrants settled in the urban areas of Belgorod Oblast.

Foreign migrants made up 52.9 percent of the total, with 56 percent of these coming from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Baltics. Typically, the immigrants came from Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

During the first six months of 2005, the migration department of the oblast's branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs handed out 1,840 work permits and 162 Belgorod enterprises received permission to hire foreign workers. Most of the workers came from Ukraine (72%); Moldova (15.5%); and Uzbekistan (9.5%). The large, and quickly growing, share of Ukrainian workers is a result of the poor economic policies of the new Ukrainian authorities and Belgorod's location on the border, according to local analysts.

A much larger number of foreigners are living and working in the oblast than these numbers suggest. During the first half of the year, 4,526 foreigners were cited for violating Russia's visa regulations. The court ordered that 207 foreigners be deported in the first half of 2005. The deportation figures for all of 2004 were 183 and 148 for 2003. Overall the successful economic situation and geographic location of Belgorod makes it a magnet for Russian and foreign migrants.

Former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, currently touring the country giving speeches critical of the Putin administration, visited Kursk on 10 December, hoping to meet with some of the 13,000 local members of the Democratic Party of Russia (DPR), of which he plans to become president at the 17 December party congress.

Apparently, the local authorities were well prepared to disrupt Kasyanov's trip. Kursk DPR leader Sergei Vasilev, a member of the oblast duma, complained that the oblast leadership was intentionally sabotaging the visit by preventing all of the local concert halls from allowing Kasyanov to speak on their premises. Accordingly, Kasyanov was forced to appear in oblast's House of Knowledge, which is controlled by the federal organization rather than the regional authorities.

Members of the Kremlin-inspired Nashi youth group have waged war with Kasyanov in many regions. In Kursk, about 200 group members encircled the hall where the former prime minister spoke. They held up slogans such as "Misha 2% - Go to America" and "2% -- Is that the national idea?" Kasyanov has the nickname "Misha 2%" because he allegedly used to take a 2 percent cut for contracts that he approved. The Nashi activists twice tried to storm the building, but luckily no one was hurt. After two hours, the young people left in buses and the police came to set up a cordon around the building.

Apparently, Nashi's actions so scared Kasyanov, that he changed his plans for his visit to the city. He came very late to the event in the House of Knowledge and delivered only a 10-minute speech. The next day he held a press conference in the hotel, calling Nashi an extremist organization that violates citizens' constitutional rights. He placed political responsibility on "those leaders who publicly support this organization," apparently meaning the Kremlin, and announced that he would not stop traveling in the Russian regions because of this pressure.

In its Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom, the US State Department criticized Smolensk, Kursk and Belgorod oblasts for violating the right to religious freedom by limiting the activities of missionaries in their regions (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51576.htm). Kursk adopted its anti-missionary law in 2004, basing its text on a law adopted in Belgorod in 2001.

The head of the Kursk Oblast Department for Religious and Nationalities Affairs Aleksandr Shapovalov responded to the State Department report by arguing that the law was necessary because some people who have no connection to religious organizations often present themselves as such and then abuse the trust of their victims to carry out all sorts of crimes. The law also blocks unregistered religious organizations that do not have the right to conduct missionary work from engaging in such activities.

Critics of the regional law point out that article 28 of the Russian constitution gives each Russian citizen the right to hold and spread religious views. Such critics say that forcing missionaries to have documents proving that they represent an official religion in effect limits their freedom of religion. Defenders of the regional laws respond that religious organizations in Russia are legal entities and according to article 55 of the Civil Code, each representative of an organization must have proof that he is what he claims to be.

When the Belgorod law was adopted in 2001, the Belgorod procurator filed a protest, asking the court to declare key parts of the regional law in violation of federal law. However, on 3 December 2001, the collegium of the Russian Supreme Court rejected the procurator's protest and upheld the law. Since the Kursk law is identical to the Belgorod law, Kursk officials believe that it is in conformity with federal legislation.

In Kursk Oblast, the anti-missionary law has not been used against representatives of registered religions, such as Baptists and Catholics, who are actively involved in missionary work. However, the law is used systematically against representatives of unregistered religions. In the most recent case, the police took action against Jehovah's Witnesses organizing in the oblast. They also take action against supporters of Hare Krishna, Scientology, Reverend Moon and others considered to be "totalitarian sects."

Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, who have a strong interest in keeping out missionaries from other religions, support the regional laws and the Kursk authorities. They have set up their own missionary services, actively participating in radio and television programs, publishing newspapers, and sponsoring religious courses. Now almost all local schools teach a course on Orthodox culture. While the course is not mandatory, students have difficulty not attending. And, although its content is supposed to be secular, priests lead part of the instruction with missionary goals.

There are no organized extremist or nationalist groups in Kursk Oblast, according to the local procurator and police. However, there are some "unorganized" groups and they have targeted foreign students studying in the region.

Currently there are 1,500 foreign students in Kursk, with approximately 1,000 of them, representing 30 different countries, studying at the Kursk Medical University. The leadership of the university is doing everything possible to provide more security for the students, even instructing them what parts of the city are safe to visit and when they should be out. But the university officials cannot provide a 100 percent guarantee for their students. Many of the students now do not feel safe using public transportation, walking on the street, or even in their dormitories. The main threat comes from drunken teen-agers. This year there have been two attacks on students from India and Malaysia in the region.

The most recent attack was on 15 October. The victim was lucky because he was in good physical condition and a quick-acting group of student volunteers saved him from three assailants. All foreign students feel unsafe on Kursk streets, according to a poll published in the newspaper Drug dlya druga (26 October). Usually the attackers demand that the students give them their money and cell phones.

The police have increased patrols in areas where the students live and study, in an effort to provide more security. However, sometimes the students are afraid to contact the police after they have been attacked.

Medical University Rector Aleksei Lazarev has sought to bring the situation under control, according to a report in Kurskskaya Pravda (28 October). The students are vital to the university because they provide the possibility for further development, an increased material base, and larger salaries for the professors. If the students are afraid to study in Kursk, the university will quickly lose one of its key sources of income. The rector has created a voluntary force of 70 ethnic Russian students who provide constant patrols around the foreign student dormitories. The university also provides buses from the dormitories to classrooms and has purchased an expensive video security system. Additionally, Lazarev is planning to provide education programs for Kursk youth, lecturing high school classes about life in other countries so that the foreigners will not seem so strange to local youths and not provoke such aggression.

The students cannot protect themselves by purchasing tear gas weapons because Russian law only allows them to buy such weapons five days before they leave the country. Lazarov advises them that the best way to defend themselves is staying in good physical condition.

Kursk Mayor Viktor Surzhikov issued instructions on the local implementation of the 19 June 2004 federal law on public gatherings on 22 June, sharply limiting protest meetings in the region. The instructions put strict limits on gatherings on Kursk's Red Square, which borders the oblast and city administration buildings. These limits go beyond what is written in the federal law, which does not forbid protest rallies near federal, regional, or local government buildings. Notice of picketing must be given to the authorities three days in advance, while notice of other meetings must be made 10-15 days in advance.

The decision on whether an activity can take place will now be made by the leadership of the oblast committee on culture. The committee can reject requests if public action could destroy a public memorial or if the state of the monument might injure protest event participants.

Under the new regulation, the committee can also block an event if the organizers expect more people than are allowed at a certain site. On the central red square, gatherings are allowed between 12 pm and 7 pm. No more

Kursk will elect members of its oblast duma in November and authorities fear that the elections could lead to large, disruptive meetings if measures are not taken now. Kursk politicians and human rights defenders claim that the restrictions violate the constitution. However, local leaders of the Liberal Democratic and Communists parties said that the restrictions would not hinder them.

The new regulations point up two social problems in the oblast. First, political parties remain extremely weak and can only demonstrate their strength through public protests on Kursk's main square. Second, the executive

On 27 June at 3am more than 500 prisoners incarcerated in colony OX-30/3 in the city of L'gov, 150 km from Kursk, cut themselves to protest terrible conditions. They used the razor blades taken from disposable plastic shavers to cut their hands, feet, and cheeks. The prisoners received razor daily since they are not allowed to wear beards or moustaches. All the prisoners received medical aid, though the prison authorities had to summon extra doctors from a nearby hospital. Some of the prisoners lost consciousness due to massive blood loss,

News of the event spread quickly thanks to the statements of numerous relatives and websites, such as newsru.com, mignews.com.ua and others. Many relatives gathered at the prison gates in the morning after the incident. From their conversations, it was clear that cutting incidents had occurred in the past, but only involved 5-6 individuals. A massive incident like the one of 27 June was unprecedented. In letters written 2-3 days before the event, some prisoners claimed that they might die soon. Relatives said that life in the colony had been unsettled and that the prison authorities did a poor job of relating to the prisoners. The relatives said that the guards beat the

According to Kursk Oblast procurator Aleksandr Babichev 260 individuals suffered. He said that he had found cases of abuse on the part of the prison authorities, including beatings and torture, and had filed criminal

The incident was clearly planned in advance, as witnessed by the fact that the events took place simultaneously in all 10 sections of the colony. The procurator filed charges against 28 organizers of the event for not obeying the orders of the colony leadership. Justice Ministry representative Viktor Fedichev said that the protest leaders were rapists and murders transferred at the beginning of the month to the L'gov colony due to overcrowding at the Kursk Kosinovo colony. During the last two years, the L'gov colony served as a showcase prison that was considered among the best in Russia. It had long ranked among the top in Kursk Oblast. A group of wardens had planned to visit the colony on 29 June to learn from its successes.

The flaws of the Russian penitentiary system are well known: punishments much harsher than then crimes committed, crowding, and cruelty and torture at the hands of the guards. The system has changed little since the

Soviet era and is in great need of reform. Conditions continue to deteriorate, allowing the inmates to become further entrenched in the criminal world. The events in L'gov are a clear signal about the situation in this sphere of

Kursk Oblast colonies currently hold more than 50,000 inmates. At the end of June, 50 relatives had set up a round-the-clock picket outside the colony and had no intention of dispersing.

At the beginning of June Kursk Oblast authorities introduced new prices for communal services that are five to six times higher than what residents had been paying. The Russian government had adopted a measure calling for these increases in August 2004 and the oblast government followed suit in March 2005. However, until the last moment, the authorities had stuck to the old prices, providing generous subsidies. The oblast paid 264 million rubles in such subsidies in 2004, according to oblast premier Aleksandr Zubarev (Kommersant-Chernozem'e, 9 June).

Thanks to the higher prices protesters now gather in Kursk's central square no less than twice a week. The Communists are not the ones organizing the protests since Governor Aleksandr Mikhailov is a former member of their party. Just before Putin appointed him to another term, he left his former party for the pro-Kremlin United Russia. On 7 June State Duma member Sergei Ivanov, the local leader of Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party, led the protests and a few days later it was the supporters of State Duma member Aleksandr Fedulov. About 400 people gathered for the second protest and it was the first time that Ivanov and Fedulov were known to make common cause.

"We are united by our desire to force the governor's resignation,"Ivanov told the newspaper Drug dlya druga (8 June). Governor Mikhailov as usual blames everything on the federal government. This buck passing is not

On 16 April a Kursk court handed down a sentence against ten individuals who were part of a group that helped illegal migrants from the countries of Central and South Eastern Asia cross the Russian border into Ukraine on their way to Western Europe. The group operated in Kursk and Bryansk oblasts in Russia and Sumy Oblast in Ukraine.

Aleksandr Kotov, allegedly well known in criminal circles in Russia and Ukraine, organized the group in 2001, according to the FSB (Drug dlya druga, April 27). Born in Ukraine, Kotov moved to Kursk five years ago and received Russian citizenship. He then began to organize the illegal migration of citizens from China, Vietnam, India, and Afghanistan through Russia. The oblasts served as his base of operations for the migrants. While he was operating, the local papers frequently reported on the arrest of dozens of citizens from these Asian countries. The illegal migrants often spent several weeks in Kursk and Bryansk oblasts waiting to cross the border. In some cases they formed ethnic crime groups and attacked local residents. Internationally wanted criminals also apparently used this channel for crossing the border.

Having defeated several competitor groups, including through shootouts, Kotov was able to operate along 300 kilometers of the border. But this wider sphere of activity also led to more arrests. Based on information from one Afghan migrant caught on the border, the authorities were able to arrest an Afghan in Moscow who was sending his countrymen across the border to Ukraine. The flow of such Afghan "tourists" quickly dried up.

Initially, Kotov remained free while the authorities were able to arrest rank-and-file couriers taking small groups across the border. The authorities' break came at the end of last year. In December 2004, the border guards arrested a truck that was hiding 48 Chinese amid sacks of potatoes.

Thanks to this case, the FSB ultimately gathered enough evidence to arrest Kotov and nine of his colleagues. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities arrested a Ukrainian working on that side of the border.

On 22 February, the Kursk legislature voted to approve incumbent Aleksandr Mikhailov as governor, following his appointment to the position by President Putin. All 41 legislators present in the hall voted for him. Mikhailov was elected governor in November 2000 and then won a second term four years later.

The governor worked hard to win Putin's favor. He quit the Communist Party in 2004. During the last six months, he has met with the president twice and presidential envoy Georgii Poltavchenko has started to visit the region one to two times a month, much more frequently than in the past. So far, the Kremlin seems to be benefiting from the new system of appointing governors since the appointees are extremely loyal, regardless of their previous positions.

Across Russia, the protests against the new policy of providing monetary compensation instead of in-kind benefits have yet to subside. Instead of allowing some categories of citizens free rides on public transportation, for example, the new system requires them to pay out of their pockets, with the state providing small sums to each citizen. However, in most cases the state subsidies do not cover the new costs that beneficiaries face.
In Kursk, former beneficiaries picketed the oblast duma on 10 January, protesting the cancellation of their right to ride public transportation free of charge. Social workers who provide services to the sick and elderly in their homes went on strike. As a result of the new policy, 350 workers of the "Sympathy" and "Care" social centers now must pay out of their pockets to use the public transportation system to visit their clients at home and travel to stores to purchase groceries for them. Previously these workers had the right to use public transportation without paying. Since 1 January, when the new law went into effect, they have had to cut their visits by half because of the higher costs. The social workers' salaries are extremely small, totaling only 1,500 rubles a month (about $50), and they simply don't have the means to cover the higher costs.
Municipal police officers are also unhappy and many have refused to pay to bus fares. The situation has deteriorated to fist fights with tram and trolley bus drivers in some cases.
On 17 January, several hundred Kursk residents again took to the streets. The protesters, mostly pensioners, blocked the entrance to the oblast duma building and demanded that the deputies take responsibility for the new policy. Duma chairman Aleksandr Anpilov appeared before the crowd after protesters began shouting "An-pi-lov" repeatedly. However, the crowd did not let him speak. Then the crowd went to the building housing the oblast government. Deputy head of government Viktor Proskurin tried to explain that the oblast would provide an additional 100 rubles each month, but this did not pacify the demonstrators since this sum does not match the value of the benefits they lost. Rides on trams and trolleybuses cost 4 rubles, while city buses charge 6 rubles.
The assembled crowd drafted resolutions to President Vladimir Putin, presidential envoy Georgii Poltavchenko, Governor Aleksandr Mikhailov, and Kursk mayor Viktor Surzhikov. Among their demands was restoring free use of public transportation to pensioners, families with many children, and a large number of other categories of citizens. They also demanded that the government cancel its plan to charge people 100 percent of the cost of municipal services. Other demands included the resignation of the incumbent authorities, cutting the expenses of the oblast duma, and eliminating separate budgets for the deputies to use at their discretion and transferring this money to pay for social benefits.
Naturally, several politicians tried to stand at the front of this wave of social protest, including former State Duma member Aleksandr Fedulov and the head of the local Liberal Democratic Party Sergei Ivanov. However, their speeches did not have much success among the protesters.
The protesters threatened that if their demands were not met, they would take to the streets again on 28 January. The most threatening situation is that since 1 January, the population must bear the full cost of municipal services, meaning that they face a 10 percent rise in costs. Additionally, since the beginning of the year, the price of electricity has gone up 15 percent. The retail price for natural gas went up 20 percent and is expected to rise again in April. These increases will drive up housing costs even more.
The rising fuel costs will have a much stronger negative impact than the monetization of social benefits, according to oblast government head Aleksandr Zubarev. Currently, residents pay 24.10 rubles for a square meter of apartment space for household energy. The new fees will be about 30 rubles a square meter. If the increases go into effect, the oblast will have to provide compensation to the region's poorest residents of 400 million rubles to help them offset the cost increase. Such aid, however, is unlikely to be forthcoming. "The oblast does not have this money," Zubarev said.
As noted above, so far, the oblast is only willing to pay pensioners an extra 100 rubles a month to help them pay for public transportation. Recipients should get the first installment of this money at the end of January and then in the beginning of the month in the future. However, to qualify for this compensation, pensioners must provide documents showing that their income is less then the defined level set for aid to kick in. The oblast has not yet announced exactly how individuals will qualify and these procedures are expected to be clarified later.
The authorities are now pointing fingers at each other to place blame for the problems. The governor's press service blamed the United Russia deputies representing Kursk in the State Duma, Aleksandr Chukhraev and Aleksei Bolkov. The Duma deputies, in turn, blame all of the problems on the governor and the oblast duma.

Kursk Governor Aleksandr Mikhailov's decision to leave the Communist Party created a furor in the region during the last week before the New Year's holidays. Mikhailov announced his decision on regional television on 24 December. He said that he always supported the unity of the Slavic countries and that this goal had once been a priority for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Now he said that his goal is to "consolidate society, unify the population around the idea of strengthening the socio-economic potential of the region."

He charged that the Communist leaders were currently focused on internal disputes and not serving the popular interest. Mikhailov claimed that the final straw was the party's decision to include him in the Central Committee without his consent and then not to withdraw his name when he requested them to do so. After his decision to leave the party, the Communist Party leadership referred to Mikhailov as a "traitor".

Mikhailov said that he fully supports the policy of President Putin. This statement led many to assume that the governor planned to join the United Russia party. However, the governor said that he had no plans to join the pro-Kremlin party and that as governor he planned to stay above parties.

Most likely, the main driving force behind Mikhailov's decision is that the governor's current term runs out in November 2005. Undoubtedly, he hopes to lead Kursk even after this term finishes. Under the new procedures, Putin will appoint a new governor and that person has to be confirmed by the regional legislature. In the Kursk parliament, the most well represented groups are regional business and civil servants. Political parties, whether the Communists or United Russia, have little influence. Mikhailov is now trying to win Putin's favor by working closely with the presidential envoy to the Central Federal District, Georgii Poltavchenko, who visited Kursk one week before Mikhailov announced his withdrawal from the party.