A woman gathers straw in the field.
Photo: Eddie Opp
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Russian Border District Wants to Become Ukrainian
November 18, The head of one district in Bryansk Region has suggested to the local administration that it separate from the Russian Federation and join neighboring Ukraine. Novye Izvestia newspaper writes that Nikolay Zevako justified the suggestion by saying that Zlynka District is spending all of its income to the local treasury and federal budget as taxes.
The newspaper has found out that a petition is already being circulated in support of Zevako's proposal. Local residents say that no one there is surprised by the idea, since a large number of problems have arisen that the federal government is not solving.
Zlynka residents do not receive supplement aid from the state, in spite of the serious suffering the area has experience since the Chernobyl catastrophe. The radiation level there remains one of the highest in the region. The general standard of living is low and local industry has long been at a standstill.
There is a geographic question involved as well. The district is located 260 kilometers from the district center, but the Ukrainian city of Chernigov and the Belarusian Gomel are only 30-40 kilometers away.
Novye Izvestia noted that, several years ago, the neighboring district of Krasnogorsk mounted a petition to united with Belarus. As a result, the local head of the administration was fired and the secession was unsuccessful.
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