2004 Press Releases
Consulate General Meets Democracy and Environmental NGOs in Chelyabinsk and Shchyuche
November 29, 2004
Consul General Scott Rauland and Consul Matt Purl visited Chelyabinsk on November 27-28. The Consul General met with the Director of the Chelyabinsk Opera House, who has been negotiating a U.S. tour for his opera company in 2005.
Matt Purl, Consul for Political and Economic Issues, met in Chelyabinsk with human right activists and exchanged views on NGO relations with local and federal authorities, and on upcoming regional elections.
Purl also made a short visit to Shchuchye, in Kurgan Oblast, where the United States is funding the construction of a plant to destroy chemical weapons as part of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. Under this initiative, the United States will help render safe Russia's chemical weapons arsenal. Purl met with the Director of the Shchuchye branch of the "Green Cross" environmental protection NGO, and with the Mayor of Shchuchye, to discuss the impact of the project on the local community and the region. Construction of the chemical destruction facility plays an important role in the local economy, employing over 300 people from Shchuchye and many more from the adjacent territories.
