Delhi's famed 17th centuiry Red Fort has been selected by UNESCO to be on the World Heritage List.

I am really thrilled about this as the authorities in Delhi have been taking special care to maintain the Fort, which is one of the main symbols of India.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/28red.htm

Why don't we rename Global Gallery as Slobal Gallery?

I wonder why on earth TIG is taking so long to approve pictures. It's much easier to post pictures on sites like Facebook and Flickr but I still want to put up pics on global gallery as I feel it's a good way of enhancing TIG's collection. It's too bad that TIG doesn't share my sentiments...

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

The Russian Government’s coercive tactics to take control of the Sakhalin II project hasn’t gone very well with the international business community. While it’s the government’s right to protect its interests (and the environment), the manner in which it went about the Gazprom “takeover” of the Sakhalin II project was unbecoming. Starting with the dismantling of Yukos, the government has been on a collision course with international companies operating in the oil and gas industry. In just 3 years, Russia’s image has taken the kind of pounding that would have been unthinkable in the post-Cold War era.

Despite membership (and presidency) of the Group of 8 industrialised and democratic nations, Russia has maintained several relics of the dark past such as an unreformed judiciary and police. The country has also curtailed individual freedoms guaranteed by the new constitution such as freedom of speech and movement. Sakhalin and many other regions in the Russian Far East have been re-declared border zones, with an eye on restricting travel. Most countries restrict access to sensitive defence establishments but the authorities in Russia have gone overboard.

Short-sighted visa and immigration policies have made it difficult for companies to get work permits for skilled specialists, while at the same time, the country is flooded with illegal immigrants from the former Soviet Union (taking advantage of no visa restrictions) and China (using improperly manned borders and lax border-visa regimes).

In Sakhalin, the oil and gas industry has created an economic boom and the quality of life and standard of living has drastically improved but a large proportion of the populace remain economically vulnerable. The administration, at one time, promised large allowances to each Sakhaliner on the lines of what residents of Alaska get but not a single kopeck has been paid.

Sakhalin’s environment is also at the receiving end of a beating from several elements although media coverage is restricted to the Sakhalin II project. It’s not a matter of too much concern for the media and the greens that the forests and wild areas of the island are slowly turning into landfills. Poachers are driving several species of marine life to extinction and criminal elements are making a killing on caviar, salmon and crabs.

It’s obvious that Sakhalin and Russia need major changes. Being such a large country with a unique set of problems, no western model really suits Russia but there has to be a point where reforms and changes are initiated. Russians aspire to have their country as a member of the civilised family of nations and this is no mean task. Unless the establishment makes tough choices in 2007, Russia will keep going backwards and fall deeper in to the dark pit. It would be tomfoolery for the establishment to think that record-high energy prices will last forever and that belligerence towards other countries and its own citizens won’t have any serious after-effects.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Despite denials from both sides, it is clear now that Shell made a good-enough offer to Gazprom so that the latter can enter the Sakhalin II project. The western media in collective rage is on a Russia-condemning spree claiming that the country coerced Shell to part with a large stake in the project. Editorials have streamed in from London and New York calling the Kremlin unethical. Such criticism though harsh, is not baseless but the Russian regulatory authorities didn’t have to work too hard to “coerce” Shell.

While it is debatable whether the cost increases in the second phase of the Sakhalin II project were justified, there is little doubt that the project operator didn’t keep a watchful enough eye on the activities of its sub-contractors. The initial statements from Sakhalin Energy denying environmental violations and the subsequent blame it placed on Starstroi gave the Russian Natural Resources Ministry’s environmental watchdog enough ammunition to make life very difficult for the operator. Although Oleg Mitvol promises to continue his attack on Sakhalin Energy, it is now unlikely that the government’s environmental watchdogs will apply as much pressure as it did when the Sakhalin II project lacked direct Russian participation.

In an ideal world, Gazprom’s entry into the project will keep costs from sky-rocketing, ensure the environment is protected and at the same time the excellent human resource policies and community development initiatives of Sakhalin Energy will continue. Given the uncertainties of business and political developments in Russia, no one really knows what kind of changes we are going to see in the implementation of the Sakhalin II project. It would be a real tragedy if the government’s environmental watchdog decides to ignore environmental violations and Gazprom has the freedom and control to run amok and decides to use the project as a tool for political gains.

Russia is no longer in the economic position it was in the mid-1990s. The present regime has made it abundantly clear that terms and conditions imposed on a weak Russia will never be accepted again in the future. However, the country is on its way to becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation and wants to be immersed in the global economy. If the government makes it difficult for foreign companies to do business in Russia then it can expect the same kind of treatment overseas for Russian companies.

Since the Russia-Shell drama seems to have come to a close, we can only hope now that the Sakhalin II project can be implemented without any major interruptions, ensuring that deliveries of LNG are met as per agreed-upon schedules. This alone, can be a saving grace for both Russia and Shell, which would both lose out if there are more delays in the project.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Despite federal policies encouraging the contrary, the Sakhalin Region has been at the forefront of welcoming international specialists. Foreigners are generally respected in Sakhalin and face almost no harassment from the authorities. However, a wave of illegal immigrants from the Caucasus and China has not escaped the eye of the authorities. Following orders from Moscow, the Federal Migration Service (FMS) has decided to come down on all foreigners working on the island without the right documents.

Judging by the sheer rhetoric it looks like the FMS is painting an oil company executive working on a business visa and a document-less shuttle trader from China with the same brush. Such rhetoric and accompanying threats are completely short-sighted. The oil and gas industry is the backbone of the Sakhalin economy and the remarkable changes on the island over the last few years can be accounted to the Sakhalin Shelf projects. These projects cannot be implemented without the help of international specialists. Most executives in Sakhalin would be more than happy to obtain work permits for their skilled foreign staff rather than depend on business visas. But the whole process of obtaining a work permit is ridiculously difficult and time-consuming.

Instead of making it easier or at least more reasonable to obtain work permits, the authorities are trying to clamp down on the very people who try their best to get such documents. Each time Russian visa rules and policies change, international specialists are made to believe by the government that they are unwelcome in Russia. Ironically, illegal immigrants from China and former Soviet republics ignore all sorts of rules and make a decent living in Sakhalin. With open borders for most former Soviet republics and sheer inability to monitor the long border with China, it’s impossible to keep out illegal immigrants from these places.

In the case of immigrants working in the markets, the authorities have failed to take into consideration the fact that many immigrants have actually obtained Russian citizenship and it is illegal and impossible to evict them from Sakhalin. Even in the case of illegal immigrants, one just has to walk ten minutes away from the Sakhalin Administration building to see a row of Chinese cobblers and vendors on the streets. These people aren’t invisible to anyone but the authorities or certain law-enforcers who are “kept happy.”

There is so little coordination between different organs of power in Russia that laws often contradict each other. The Russian Government was supposed to announce relaxed visa, registration and work permit regulations by January 15, 2007 and now using ethnic tensions in Carelia as an excuse, new rules make getting visas under existing categories difficult. We are talking about a country with a growing economy but a shrinking population. If the present trend continues, we are heading for a scenario where the only people that will be available to fill job vacancies in the booming economy will be illegal and poorly educated immigrants from China and former Soviet countries.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Many a visitor to Sakhalin leaves with a completely wrong impression of the island’s wonderful people. One such visitor e-mailed this publication asking its columnists how they could keep writing about the warm and hospitable people when such kinds seemed non-existent to him. The unfortunate visitor mistook those in Sakhalin’s service industry for the common Sakhaliner. He was under the wrong impression that the rude lady behind the cash register or the harsh voice on other end of the telephone handling service complaints represents the typical local. Such types have atrocious attitudes towards locals and expats alike and no one living in Sakhalin is exempt from this wrath.

Of course, a small clarification needs to be made in this comment. There are a handful of restaurants and other establishments run in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk that understand the meaning of politeness and service with a smile. But you can’t get a computer fixed or buy airline tickets or open a bank account in a hotel or a restaurant. These kinds of services belong to the exclusive league of arrogant, slow and mean-spirited service providers. It’s not that their services come cheap by any means. To avail of the services without smiles a customer must pay top roubles. Caveat Emptor has a whole new meaning in Sakhalin: let the buyer beware of the seller before bewaring of the product.

The problems of the service industry don’t just affect individuals but companies also have to bear the wrath of the service providers. Large multinationals operating in Sakhalin become hostage to service providers even in case of minor problems. Judging by the poor service that companies are subject to on the island, it’s no wonder that even huge oil and gas projects deal with large-scale delays.

Unlike other countries where a good service culture in the private sector is a catalyst to better services from government-run service providers, Sakhalin’s private companies lack even the most basic business sense.

One has to ponder about where the solution lies. Competition for instance is a temporary solution to Sakhalin’s service woes. When a competitor enters the market, Sakhaliners tend to enjoy the benefits of good service until the organisation has a good enough base in Sakhalin. From then onwards, it looks like some sort of cartel encourages the new service provider to adopt the standard practices of poor service at a high price.

Singapore faced a similar crisis in its service industry in the late-1970s. That was when the great Lee Kuan Yew launched the courtesy campaign. It took a lot of time and conscientious effort to change age-old established mindsets but now the island-nation is renowned for its excellent service culture. Sakhalin needs a similar mini-miracle to reach a stage where politeness and courtesy are a cultural norm. Very few people demand or expect artificial smiles and warmth but basic decency isn’t something that Sakhaliners should have to dream about.

Tailpiece: The tolerance of Sakhaliners to poor service can be termed as exemplary. This isn’t necessarily a good thing.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

When a major earthquake rocked the Koryak Area of the Kamchatka Region in April, scientists warned of the dangers of such a natural disaster in Sakhalin. Such sentiments were echoed by Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu this week in the wake of a series of tremors off the island. Other well-known scientists have gone as far as saying that a major earthquake is a question of when and not if.

With such warning signs, absolutely no damage control or disaster management steps are being taken in the Sakhalin Region. A country like Japan, which is prone to earthquakes and is uncomfortably (tectonically) close to Sakhalin, ensures that all buildings are earthquake-safe and by law has regular earthquake drills in schools and offices. These precautions and other timely measures, like training paramedics, make certain that there is minimum damage during an earthquake.
Sakhalin’s complete lack of preparedness ensured that when there was that horrible earthquake in Neftegorsk in 1995, the residents of the settlement had very little chance of surviving. That (7.6 on the Richter scale) earthquake caused the collapse of the settlement’s 17 standard five-story apartment buildings, four newer apartment buildings, the town hall, the administration building, a heat generating building and a number of shops. Most of the collapsed buildings had been built of prefabricated concrete panels with little or no reinforcement. Most of these buildings like the 5-floor blocks in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk were built in the 1960s. It took less than a minute for the buildings to collapse, leaving 2,500 people under rubble.
11 years is a very long time but little has been done in terms of earthquake safety and disaster management anywhere in Sakhalin. Scientists have stated that the risk of an earthquake is higher in Central Sakhalin, which is disadvantaged by the fact that the network of roads from the south is still extremely poor. Relief work and supplies to these parts would take longer especially in the winter.
Sakhalin is totally unprepared for the fury of Mother Nature. It takes one standard snowstorm, the kind that is a staple on the island for life to come to a standstill. The first snowstorm of the winter causes the airport to close, power cuts across the island and an interruption in the water supply. It’s appalling that the authorities are caught napping every winter with the weather and its effects being predictable. The blatant callousness of the authorities poses a great risk to the residents of the island.
Maximum priority has to be accorded to preparedness for earthquakes and other natural calamities. Disaster Management is as important to the Sakhalin Region as public welfare. Preparing for a natural disaster must be equated with preparing for a large-scale war as both are capable of untold human suffering, with the former being beyond human control.
Tailpiece: It is encouraging that a federal ministry has expressed concern about the seismic activity in Sakhalin. It will take a coordinated effort between the ministry and the regional authorities to ensure that the island is prepared for a calamity of a large scale.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Russia faces a threat that is much bigger than extremism, disease or war. Sakhalin is one region, with its prosperity that is bound to suffer from this menace known as road accidents. There were a shocking number of reported incidences of road accidents around Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk over the span of the long holiday weekend. Each of these cases was unique and one of them resulted in death. Several people have sustained serious injuries as a result of rash and reckless driving and poor roads.

One of out every two residents of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has a car and this is for a city with roads that were designated for probably one third of the number. This in itself can be a leading cause of a number of small accidents on the road. The greater problem however lies in the fact that a large number of these Sakhaliners simply refuse to follow basic traffic rules. It’s not considered “macho” for young men in Sakhalin to fasten their safety-belts. First of all, the penalty for not wearing a seatbelt is 500 roubles but this isn’t going to scare too many Sakhaliners. It’s impossible for traffic police to see whether drivers are wearing seat belts or not at night. Given the credibility that many traffic policemen enjoy, those drivers that get caught will find a way to minimise their expenses and keep the cop happy.

Traffic policemen in Sakhalin get absolutely no respect and their poor reputation is on a large part earned. There are several recorded instances of traffic policemen stopping cars and wasting time trying to find some violation or the other and at the same time turning a blind eye towards those breaking speeding limits or even those driving under intoxication. It may take forever to reform the traffic police in Russia, but the people of Sakhalin can’t be classified as a lost cause.

There has to be a greater awareness about road accidents and how in many cases they are avoidable with the simplest precautions. In this respect, Sakhalin Energy’s road safety initiative was a much-needed step. Besides the media campaign, the strict enforcement among the company’s employees has helped a lot in reducing road accidents and minimising injuries related to them. It’s important that other multinational and Russian companies join the initiative in road safety to ensure safer roads for Sakhaliners. Considering that a large number of prosperous Sakhaliners owe their wealth to the oil and gas industry in the region, strong signals from the key players in the industry to exert utmost maximum caution on the roads will help improve the situation in the region. We’ll have to just hope in the meantime that the regional authorities do their part and improve the region’s road infrastructure.

Tailpiece:

The Global Road Safety Partnership’s Sakhalin report states that the inadequate state of the road infrastructure contributes fundamentally to the road safety problem in the Sakhalin Region. It adds that road signs exist on only 75% of the roads and some 60% of signs do not conform to federal standards. In addition, the report states that 60% of victims of road accidents in urban areas in Sakhalin are pedestrians.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

There isn’t the least bit of doubt about the positive effects of the oil and gas projects on Sakhalin’s economy. Few can argue about the fact that the region would have been nothing but an economic basket-case like the surrounding Russian Far Eastern regions had it not been for the presence of the oil giants. However environmental issues can’t just be swept aside under the rug.

It is no secret that the installation of pipelines that cut through forests and rivers and the constant drilling for oil on the shelf can cause disturbances in the eco-system. These disturbances are what can be classified as a necessary evil, especially when one considers the number of lives that such projects directly enrich. However, there also needs to be a consideration for the kind of Sakhalin that will be left for the future generations.

It has been established beyond a shadow of doubt that the pipeline work for the Sakhalin II project has been handled callously by the subcontractors. Rather than pointing fingers and deciding who’s really to blame, the way forward is to rectify these mistakes and ensure that there is as little damage to the environment as possible. Whereas Sakhalin Energy claims that 98% of the violations have been rectified, the Russian Natural Resources Minister, who tends to hold strict standards, claimed that 98% needed to be done. It will take a lot of time before the two sides arrive at some common ground.

Sakhalin Energy needs to be commended for the fact that the work on the project’s second phase is going as per schedule despite the company being bombed with regular distractions. The company will have to have even tighter control over its sub-contractors to avoid potential sanctions. Further, the company has been transparent about several issues and open to discussing them in public.

Several analysts have called the environmental threats by the government as a bargaining tool for Gazprom’s entry into the project. It would be in Sakhalin’s best interests if strict environmental controls are maintained on the project even after there is Russian government participation. In fact, the environmental probes into Rosneft’s projects and the Sakhalin-1 project are an indication that the Russian Government views environmental violations very seriously.

While the government steps up pressure on oil companies on environmental violations, there are other serious offenders of environmental laws that are going unpunished. The poaching mafia in Sakhalin may just wipe out entire species of marine wildlife if their activities are unchecked. There is also a great danger from within. This is from local companies and individuals. The authorities are still clueless about toxic barrels that were discovered in the forests outside Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a few months ago. Affluence and better lifestyles have led many a Sakhaliner to have greater access to the really wild areas of the region. It’s these Sakhaliners that are guilty of leaving tonnes of garbage, many of which aren’t bio-degradable, behind in these areas.

The fate of Sakhalin’s environment is in the hands of each and every individual that lives on the island. We all need to work together to preserve the island’s fragile environment.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times.

As much as the Soviet Union preached the equality of races and denounced racism, calling it a western colonial practice, one of the biggest mistakes it made was classifying its various ethnic groups into nationalities rather than classifying all citizens as having a common Soviet nationality. Russia did away the nationalities column in the internal passport but now we have the Sakhalin Duma petitioning the prime minister to reinsert it. This petition could open a Pandora’s Box in a country that is struggling to maintain its fragile inter-ethnic harmony.

Sakhalin’s Indigenous People are at the forefront of the movement to have their nationality stated on their passports. Small in number, the indigenous groups on the island have received both international attention and a very generous grant programme in the Sakhalin Energy-sponsored Sakhalin Indigenous Minority Development Programme (SIMDP). Given the mentality of a typical Russian bureaucrat, it’s understandable that people who are obviously indigenous may be asked to furnish irrefutable proof of their ethnicity. The solution to this lies in special identity cards issued by the Sakhalin Administration. The internal passport is a very important identification document in Russia but it’s not the only recognised document. Identification cards like driver’s licenses and student ID cards also establish identity beyond a doubt. Similarly a simple identity card stating that a person belongs to the Nivkh or Nanai community should be enough.

The Sakhalin Administration’s petition may just fuel those politicians in Russia with ultra-nationalistic tendencies to demand that all passports have that dreaded column again. This would achieve nothing but creating more divisions in a country where ethnic identities are becoming more relevant by the day. While there is absolutely no danger of inter-ethnic strife in Sakhalin, there are several flashpoints in Central Russia. It is in these flashpoints that classification of a citizen on the basis of nationality that can lead to a potentially dangerous situation.

There are several fringe elements in contemporary Russian society, all looking to blame their poor living conditions on “non-Russian nationals.” These elements are growing in number and threaten to destroy the unity of the Russian people. The government, which has openly denounced these groups, is looked upon as the main obstruction by extremists. It is in Russia’s best interests that the government maintain this stand and ensure that the constitutional rights of all Russian citizens are protected. The Russian Constitution guarantees equal rights for all citizens regardless of race and ethnicity. One of the essential requisites of enforcing that equality, at least in public life, is an official policy that pays no attention to a citizen’s ethnic or racial background.

Tailpiece: As ridiculous as this sounds, maybe the Federal Government should enact a law that states that all Russian Citizens be automatically classified as having Russian Nationality. There is no distinction between citizenship and nationality in any civilised country.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

These are three words that every Sakhaliner has become accustomed to hearing over the better part of the last decade. Every year, inspections conducted in late-October reveal that the Sakhalin Region is unprepared to deal with the onset of cooler temperatures. The municipal authorities stopped providing hot water and indoor heating from mid-May under the guise of maintenance work. It’s shocking that in 5 months, inadequate restoration work was carried out on the city’s crumbling pipeline system. If a large number of homes in the region’s capital don’t have heating, it’s not difficult to imagine how bad the situation must be in lesser inhabited parts.

The Sakhalin winter can be absolutely brutal and unforgiving. Temperatures with the wind chill factor tend to drop to almost 40 degrees (Celsius) below the freezing point. Southern Sakhalin witnesses relatively reasonable weather when compared to the north. It’s the northern part of the island that is most prone to major power cuts and heating shortages in the winter.

Every August, a minor warning is handed out to the Sakhalin Administration for inadequate winter preparations and all is forgotten by October. Then in late-December, the first blizzard strikes Sakhalin and the island gets cut off from the rest of the world and the authorities express shock at nature’s fury. This October, the Sakhalin Region seems to be falling into the same pattern that has made many a winter memorable for the wrong reasons.

The extremely prolonged 2005-6 winter with its series of snow storms only put further pressure on the utilities, communal infrastructure and social amenities. The 2005-6 winter marked a first in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk when it came to the sheer number of water cuts and cuts in heating supply. These kinds of things are a yearly feature in other parts of the region.

The past winter also had an alarming number of accidents in the city, the worst of those being the incident around the New Year when a schoolboy fell into a manhole and got boiled to death. A four year-old boy in the city escaped a similar feat by a stroke of luck. With the infrastructure crumbling in the city, more neighbourhoods may turn into death-traps for pedestrians this winter.

Whatever the hardships that the people of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk endure, they pale in comparison to other parts of the region, where people have been enduring conditions reminiscent of the 16th century. There are several so-called urban-type settlements in central and northern Sakhalin that have non-existent water, heating and electricity delivery systems. It is quite puzzling that the large number of officials, who inspect the region’s winter preparations each August, seem to think that all is in place.

The main problems when it comes to the region’s infrastructure are inadequate funding, misallocation of the existing funds and a disregard for maintenance of facilities. It is a crying shame that at a time when energy projects have helped to bring an enormous windfall to Sakhalin, the region’s infrastructure is in such a state. It will take a lot of political will to overhaul the infrastructure on the island. All the investment in the world will not be enough if those at the top don’t ensure that the utilities, civil amenities and infrastructure are in proper working condition and not just on paper.

This is the first editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

The decision of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources to revoke a special environmental license for the second phase of the Sakhalin II project could not have come at a worse time. With the who’s who of the oil and gas industry set to visit Sakhalin for the oil and gas conference next week, such a decision by the federal authorities shows Russia in a very poor light to the international business community.

The revoking of the license completely puts the second phase of the Sakhalin II project on hold and it may take more than 6 months for a new license allowing Sakhalin Energy to restart work on the phase. Such a scenario has several negative effects for Russia and the Sakhalin Region in general. First of all, delivery of LNG to buyers who have already signed major contracts is very much likely to get delayed. The Sakhalin II project has always been looked upon by countries in the Asia-Pacific Region as a stable source of energy supply in contrast to the volatile Middle East. Delays and uncertainties are going to force buyers to reconsider Russia as a secure energy supplier.

Looking at a wider political context, Russia’s diplomatic relations with Japan and the European Union are also likely to be seriously affected. In the case of the former, the much-touted future prime minister made a statement to this effect. It is very much against Russia’s interests to isolate its major trading partners.

Despite insistence that the interference with the project is based on environmental concerns, it’s hard to imagine that this is not an attempt by federal authorities to exert greater control over the Sakhalin II project. Several elements in the federal Government are dissatisfied with the terms and conditions of the three Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) signed in the 1990s.
All three PSAs are looked upon by the present regime as outdated investment mechanisms. While the country is under no obligation to sign new ones, honouring the existing PSAs is tantamount to Russia being a respected member of the global community.

It may take direct intervention from the Kremlin to fix this present mess but it is in everyone’s best interests that work on the Sakhalin II project’s second phase goes on as per schedule.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Over the last few years, the Sakhalin Energy consortium, which operates the Sakhalin II project, has been under fire for alleged violations of Russian environmental laws. Most of these attacks have come from environmental groups. Since the early part of the summer, the attacks have originated from an unlikely source: elements within the Russian Government. The latest developments in the saga between elements in the Russian Federal Government and Sakhalin Energy couldn’t come at a worse time. In just over two weeks, the global energy spotlight will be on the Sakhalin Region with the upcoming Sakhalin Oil and Gas Conference. The recent developments must be a great source of embarrassment for the hosts of the conference, the Sakhalin Administration.

There have been several threats made to Sakhalin Energy through the media and several statements by various government agencies that range from forcing the company to stop oil production to even cancelling the production sharing agreement. The threats that first originated from the Russian Academy of Science and then the Ministry of Natural Resources and the now well-known Oleg Mitvol, were time and again refuted by the Ministry of Industry and Energy. The latest rounds of threat have led to a senior Kremlin aide personally vouching for the Sakhalin II project.

The Sakhalin Energy consortium is the only Sakhalin shelf project operator that doesn’t have a Russian member and this is enough for several government agencies to launch constant attacks on the consortium. Whether these attacks have anything to with Shell’s proposed asset swap with Gazprom or not, the fact is that forced stoppages of the project will be detrimental to everyone’s interests, particularly the Russian Government’s. One of the biggest complaints against the Sakhalin II project is the project’s delays. If Sakhalin Energy is stopped from constructing its pipelines and from its other activities, this will just lead to even more delays and quite obviously an increase in costs.

If it is really the environment that these elements in the government are concerned about, then they also need to focus on Russian oil and gas companies and do a serious study and evaluate the effects of the activities of these companies on the environment. The findings may or may not be to the liking of the government but such a study would at least be convincing of the seriousness of these elements to protect the environment.

Undue government interference with the Sakhalin II project could seriously affect Russia’s reputation as a stable and reliable investment destination for multinational oil and gas companies. This would also have a definite spill over into investment in other sectors of the Russian economy.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times.

Let’s face the facts. The service culture in Sakhalin is still extremely backward. Things are slowly changing but we can’t expect miracles overnight. It is disturbing though that the ground staff of the only Star Alliance Member operating from Sakhalin makes its counterparts from Russian domestic airlines look like they provide great service.

Over the last fortnight, I learnt that the ground staff of Asiana Airlines doesn’t understand the meaning of good service or even politeness. Checking in at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk International Airport for a flight to Seoul, I had my first encounter. First of all, the check-in process is painfully slow with a waiting period of at least half an hour. Surprisingly, it’s not the customs that slows the process. The customs officials are not just efficient but extremely polite. It’s when I reached the check-in counter that I understood what I was in for.

The lady at the check-in counter spoke excellent English but was in no mood to listen to what I had to say. Although I handed over my ticket along with that of my Russian companion, not only did the lady refuse to give us an aisle seat (all window seats were taken) but kept us 13 rows apart! When I insisted that we want to sit close to or next to each other, the arrogant lady told us that nothing could be done and that we need to talk to other passengers on board. It was rather amusing that people who were behind us on the line, somehow managed to get seats together.
Thankfully, the cabin crew managed to get us places relatively close to each other.

We thought that this was just an odd-incident largely do the arrogance of the Sakhalin ground staff. However, we were proven wrong in Seoul. When checking in for our connecting flight for Bangkok, the lady at the check-in counter kept pestering us and wanted to know whether we filled out the Thailand visa-on-arrival form (which is only available at the Don Muang Airport in Bangkok) and whether we had photos (again which could be taken at the same airport). After a long explanation, the lady was kind enough to hand us our boarding passes and that too with a window seat and seats next to each other!

Since the cabin crew was wonderful on the flight to Bangkok, we imagined that we just had a bad day with the ground staff. On our return from Bangkok, we met a frequent flier of the airline who didn’t have too many nice things to say about the ground staff. Why was he a frequent flier? Because his company had a special arrangement, he said. The traveller’s words seemed prophetic. As soon as we reached the check-in counter at the Don Muang Airport, we were in for another round of headaches.

The (polite) lady checked my Russian visa and then wanted to see my return ticket out of Russia. Although, the Russian Government doesn’t insist on an outbound ticket, the pretty Thai lady wanted to ensure for them that I wouldn’t be an illegal immigrant. Seeing no problem, I handed them my ticket out of Russia. After keeping us waiting for 10 minutes, she asked us to go the manager and get our passports from her. The manager first asked me to wait until I reached a point where I refused to be my usual, polite self. The lady then said that my outward ticket from Russia is from Moscow and that she needed to see my Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk-Moscow ticket! Out of all the times that I have entered Russia, never did I have an onward ticket to Sakhalin from Moscow and never (not even in the house of horrors known as Sheremetyevo Airport) have I been stopped for such flimsy reasons. When I explained in not-so-polite terms that I didn’t need a domestic onward ticket from the place where I live and am registered, the manager reluctantly handed us our tickets.

Once again, the service on-board the aircraft was excellent but that doesn’t change or justify the horrible behaviour of the ground staff. It is disgusting that an airline that shows off about being a member of the Star Alliance has absolutely little or no regard for customers.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Most locals were amused to hear a few weeks ago that Sakhalin would supply electricity to Hokkaido. The scepticism comes from the fact that power cuts are a common feature in “international and modern” Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Sakhaliners know that there are settlements on the island and the Kurils that go without electricity for days, often in the peak of the winter.

As temperatures rose to over 30 degrees Celsius over the weekend, most parts of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk were without electricity. There were districts in the city that had electricity for just two hours on Sunday. Desperate Sakhaliners were unable to reach Sakhalinenergo over the weekend. Several calls even came to our office as our phone number is still listed in many directories as the Sakhalin Administration’s number. Distress calls kept coming in to the office through Monday and Tuesday.

Sakhalinenergo’s excuse about molluscs reproducing in the heat and clogging the water supply to the power stations is ridiculous but creative. For a small period in July, temperatures rose higher than they did during the present heat wave and there was no water or electricity shortage. Besides, such heat waves in August are an annual feature and the city has never faced such a problem. The very fact that the Sakhalin governor is in on holiday makes the electricity providers unaccountable, especially since they just have to deal with a timid and extremely tolerant public.

Despite all the hype of Sakhalin being an economic powerhouse and the most important region in Russia after Moscow and St Petersburg, the infrastructure and systems here are in a pathetic state. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, to top it off, has been in the midst of a power struggle between the regional and city administrations both of which take credit for any minor achievement and pass the buck when there is the smallest of crises.

It’s been five days since the power crisis started and there seems to be no sign that this will be sorted out on an emergency basis. Adding to the woes of the people of the city, there is also a water crisis now. Even the districts in the city that didn’t have power cuts have erratic water supply. These conditions are more akin to sub-Saharan Africa than an important region in a G-8 country! The present crisis is perfect fuel for a large number of foreign visitors in the city, who see Russia as backward. Could the authorities be bothered? One really has to wonder.