The last time similar independent research was carried out was between 1990 and 1993 by the geological institute "Sosnovgeos" at the request of the Oblast Administration. The results of this research revealed the overall picture of industrial pollution in the Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo territory. Maps documenting this pollution, including uranium levels, were published in our journal Volna (Wave) No. 2 (11) 1997.

One of the objects of the research conducted by the geologists was the Angarsk electrochemical plant, supervised by the Ministry for Nuclear Power. The Ministry, which has been renamed numerous times, is responsible for Russia's entire nuclear-industrial complex. Its activities have always been classified and often opposed to the interests of the public and the environment. Thus, a clear sense of the radiation exposure of the country remains either unknown or suppressed. The consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe have been understated and victims of nuclear accidents, testing, and exposure who have demanded compensation for damages to their health have not been successful. The Ministry for Nuclear Power also has a track record of lobbying for amendments that allow the importation of nuclear waste for storage in Russia. This history indicates the real interest of the Ministry--profit at any cost.

The Ministry for Nuclear Power has been trying to eliminate independent public monitoring--a vital part of civil society--the very right that NGOs have been struggling to secure in post-Soviet Russia. That is why the Ministry for Nuclear Power does not like "greens," an offensive word to them and a force that poses a threat to the way they operate. A brochure summarizing the project issued in August 2002 by Baikal Environmental Wave was devoted to the question of radiation from the point of view of "greens."  

It's difficult to know with certainty what motivated the actions taken by the Federal Security Service (FSB) here in November. The formal reason for the search given by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on 22 November was our possession of "a map showing the concentration of uranium in the water around the Angarsk Electrochemical Plant with a scale of 1:50 000, which was top secret." FSB staff conducted a three hour long search of the office and took all computers looking for the alleged map despite the fact that we gave them all maps with such a scale used for the project (on paper  and the CD version).

Baikal Environmental Wave has never possessed maps marked top secret. There were four maps with a scale of 1:50 000 accompanying the scientific report of the geologists from "Sosnovgeos."  Those maps showed the rough geometric profile of the plant, the flow of underground water, and points where samples were taken (the geologists chose this scale in order to show where these samples were taken.). We gave a number of these maps to various organizations responsible for radiation safety and control including the nuclear watchdog Gosatomnadzor, the meteorological bureau, the regional radio-ecological service, and health services. And the results of the research were discussed at a meeting of the regional radio-ecological council. At the meeting members of the council did not raise questions about the maps and did not say that they contained secret information.

The FSB staff refused to show us the document defining what is and what is not a secret. They only referred to the secrecy of the topographical base of 1942. The notion of secrecy in cartography is often modified or outdated due to the rapid development of space technology. It is not difficult to find more detailed photographs than the topographical base of 1942 taken from space on the Internet (for example, photographs of the Angarsk Electrochemical Plant area of a larger scale with details not included on our maps.) This is part of why we think it is necessary to reconsider the notion of secrecy and to declassify the document distinguishing public and classified information.

It is worth noting that the search and the confiscation of equipment was not carried out at the aforementioned organizations who possessed the same maps and that the search was carried out ten months after the maps and report were given to the state organizations. Also, that the search was carried out shortly after we had initiated a citizens' environmental impact assessment (CEIA) of a project to construct an oil pipeline by the oil magnate YUKOS. 

We do not attribute this to coincidence. There is evidence supporting the connection between YUKOS and FSB in an article published in the newspaper "SM-No.1" (No. 157 of 28 Nov. 2002) under the heading "Green spies undermine the economy of Priangarye". The article includes an interview with Michail Kilishkin, head of the Angarsk branch of the FSB. In the interview he stated that, "Baikal Environmental Wave" had made a massive campaign against the export of Russian oil to China." It is not clear what he meant. In reality we set in motion a citizens' environmental impact assessment of a project for the construction of the pipeline from the neighboring town of Angarsk to Datsin by YUKOS. The right to a CEIA is acknowledged by Russian law. The aim of the CEIA is to prevent or lessen the impact of industrial activities on the environment and minimize adverse social, economic, and other consequences. An independent assessment is critical because there is a danger that YUKOS will reduce the cost of the project at the expense of environmental protection and the interests of local people. The public environmental assessment can reveal this before it's too late, thus preventing potentially devastating consequences. Such oversight is not to the liking of any company or organization that is used to privileges, exploiting natural resources without control, or to operating in an atmosphere of secrecy.

It is our contention that law enforcement agencies should not protect commercial interests above the interests of the public and the environment. If law enforcement only protects commercial interests, people will remain defenseless in the face of corporations.  They will be unable to protect their rights, secure a healthy environment, and improve their quality of life. And they will over time assume that whoever has more money is right.

At the same time, as soon as our organization started public oversight of gas extraction at Kovykta gas field and the Angarsk-Datsin pipeline project, the newspaper "East Siberian Pravda" published a number of articles negatively depicting Baikal Environmental Wave. After the FSB search they began another series of articles targeting our organization. Discussing "environmental espionage", the paper suggests that Baikal Environmental Wave may have other motives for studying this or that question and that all its cards may not be in order. One article comments on the situation surrounding the search of the Wave's office as if it had been arranged by the organization itself for the purpose of staging a PR campaign.

We drew attention to this incident from the very beginning because with such a dangerous merger of state, business, and law enforcement agencies (when businesses can without limit manipulate the law and promote their interests) NGOs must be absolutely open at the same time abiding by the law. Otherwise, they will be unable to defend themselves against such a powerful union of forces.

It is quite possible that the real aim of the investigation regarding the 'secret' maps was to interfere with the day to day work, to frighten, or to warn the NGO. The impression here is that there is a campaign against Baikal Environmental Wave, employing all methods possible, to silence and disrupt our work.

Shortly after the FSB raid, in early December, Baikal Environmental Wave's co-chair Jennie Sutton, an Irkutsk resident for twenty-eight years, who has been fighting to protect the regional environment and Lake Baikal, had her apartment burgled (for the third time) and her car stolen. Prior to this, Sutton was singled out in the regional newspaper Vostochno-Sibirskaya Pravda and was the subject of a number of articles that threw ill light on her activities and intentions.

Environmentalists in Russia are 'inconvenient'. Concerned citizens are seen as too noisy and too active. They take on more than they should and they accuse the state of violating laws too often. The persistence and devotion of environmentalists and their critique of corporate malfeasance is part of why they are often accused of being enemies of the state. The words "spies" and "CIA's money" often accompany descriptions of the Russian environmental movement.

On the 18^th of December the FSB returned the last of the Wave's computers. According to the FSB, the maps and aerial photographs confiscated from the organization's library were given to authorities for examination. But that's not the end of the story. The criminal case, despite the fact that grounds for such a case are unclear is not closed.

Baikal Environmental Wave will defend its reputation and dignity and will also defend the geologists who we cooperate with. Our organization will try to learn whether the maps confiscated by the FSB and proclaimed to be secret are in fact secret.

We are thankful to all of the NGOs who expressed their support for Baikal Wave. We are especially thankful to the Moscow NGOs (Greenpeace, International Social Ecological Union, Center for Environmental Policy) as well as the leaders of the environmental and human rights movements who were quick to respond to the situation. They also offered advice, consultation, and showed concern for us.