Native inhabitants are more and more suppressed by mega-projects of the Russian government

On occasion of the summit held by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Vladivostok, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) points out that the native inhabitants of the Russian Far East are being suppressed by governmental mega-project plans. "Vast areas in the Far East are to be opened for intensive agricultural use, for new roads and massive new pipeline-projects – regardless of the resident indigenous communities – to try and connect the region to the economically prosperous Asian neighbors," reported the STP's expert on questions regarding the CIS states, Sarah Reinke, in Berlin on Thursday.

The human rights organization is concerned that Russia will try and use the APEC summit to find new investors to lease huge tracts of land in the Far East – for "food security" is one of the core themes of the summit and Russia would like to become the world's biggest grain cultivators until 2020. In January 2012, Andrei Slepnev – the deputy minister of economic development – already mentioned that the project is also about bio-fuel. Slepnev had offered large areas in the regions of Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk and Amur to investors from Japan, China and Vietnam. Half of the sparsely populated land was said to be "unused" while the climate change should push harvest results by another 11 to 14 percent within the next 30 to 50 years. The land is supposed to be offered in partitions of 150,000 to 200,000 acres.

There are a number of indigenous communities in these regions (with estimated 20,000 people) who have enough problems even without foreign land leases. The Nanai, the Udege, the Oroks, the Ultschen, the Evens and the Evenki peoples are suffering from the so-called land-codex, which makes land available to be bought by private persons or companies at auctions. The indigenous people have no chance in this kind of market, as they belong to the poorest population groups of the Russian Federation.

Shortly after taking over office, Putin established a ministry for the promotion of the development of the Russian Far East – calling this development project "Russia's most important geopolitical task". The new ministry will be able to coordinate major projects directly from Moscow, to avoid the local authorities and to override existing regulations. Olga Muraschko, representative of the umbrella association of indigenous groups in Russia "RAIPON" criticizes the absolute defenselessness of the indigenous groups regarding their land and their traditional way of life. In the guidelines for the new Ministry, indigenous groups and their rights are not mentioned by a single word.

Furthermore, there is an acute danger that natural resources such as timber, oil, gas and coal will be delivered from the Russian Far East to other countries in Asia. This short-sighted policy is especially threatening for the indigenous peoples and the environment of the region.