Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson ( Jun 02/00) - Three representatives from Russia's Komi Republic were in Fort Simpson last week to observe the democratic process at work at the NWT Association of Municipalities' (NWTAM) annual general meeting.

Tatyana Tyupenko, assistant to the minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, said municipal governments came into existence in Russia only two years ago. As the former communist country moves towards a market economy, the delegates are studying well-established municipal governments, she explained.

"We hope very much to transfer your experience and take the best from your experience and apply it to local conditions," Tyupenko said, translating for Irina Yazezina, head of the financial department for the city of Syktyvkar.

Yazezina said it was apparent to the Russian delegates that the municipalities have a stronger voice as a collective because a territorial minister, Jim Antoine, was there to listen to the concerns of the mayors and councillors, and report his actions to them. The Russians do not yet have an association similar to the NWTAM, she added.

The Russian delegates all came from the capital city of Syktyvkar (pop. 250,000) in the Komi Republic, northwest of Moscow. More than a million people reside in the resource-rich region, which produces oil, gas, coal, timber, bauxite, gold, silver and more.

"Should I list the whole periodic table? We have all of them," Tyupenko said, laughing. "The economy of the Komi Republic is very well developed."

Despite media reports of abject poverty in Russia, things have improved lately, especially in their part of the country, according to Sergey Shalygin, an elected city councillor and executive director of a construction company. As a frame of reference, he said a bottle of vodka costs $1 in Russia, but the average salary is $40 per month.

Indigenous peoples make up 23 per cent of the Komi Republic's population, Tyupenko noted. Unfortunately, the majority of them live below the standard of living because they reside mostly in the less developed rural areas rather than the more prosperous cities, she said.

The climate of the Komi Republic is very similar to Fort Simpson's, with snow on the ground between October and April, said Tyupenko. Shalygin said he liked Fort Simpson because he enjoys nature. On the other hand, he said he was impressed with the infrastructure of the small community, particularly the arena and community hall. He was complimentary of the hotel he was staying in too.

The delegation agreed that the future for Russia is bright and they are now moving in the right political direction.

"We are open to the whole globe," Tyupenko said. "We are full of optimism about the future ... if not, then we would not be here."