Reports claim that 20 to 40 million tons of oil lie on Russian soil. Observers report Russian forests with four feet of oil, and lagoons containing millions of tons of oil that leaks into the water table, poisoning rivers. Russia has also become one of the few importers of toxic waste in Europe. Since there are no laws against it, attempts have been made to ship 36 million tons into Russia in the last five years. Conditions in the camps have been compared to the Soviet kulag camps under Stalin.
Loggers receive food rations near the starvation level.
Ivan Gridasov, who is in charge of crop growing at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, said wheat production would amount to only 35 million tons, compared to 42.5 million in 1993. Since wheat is often stored inadequately, Gridasov urged the government to move quickly to buy the approximately 20 million tons of wheat still available at farms. President Leonid Kuchma has vowed to pursue a radical economic reform course. Earlier this week, Kuchma appointed the economist Viktor Pinzenik as first vice prime minister. Russia will export 13 million cubic meters of round timber or logs, compared to 11.5 million m3 in 1993 and 10.6 million m3 in 1992.