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Last modified on July 18, 2006  | © Telegram 2005

From a report by Jessica Barry, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

It's a story you hear over and over again in this part of Siberia — the subsidized industry and agriculture of the Soviet era have vanished but have not been replaced even by small-scale private enterprise. Still less the 'rampant capitalism' of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Kyzyl is littered with abandoned factories and a broken, rusting plant. The result is an unemployment majority and all its attendant social evils — primarily alcoholism.

Nowhere is the deadly spiral of economic decline, unemployment, alcoholism, and destitution more evident than at Kyzyl's orphanage.

Thirteen-year-old Amak Targut was admitted to the home after his mother died; his father — a "hopeless alcoholic" — was unable to look after him. He ran away from the orphanage recently but was found and brought back. No one has any idea where he was for the two weeks he was missing.

Kyzyl's orphanage provides all it can for its 320 children. But its budget is shrinking year by year. This year the school asked for 14 million rubles but will be lucky if it gets 5 million. It's had no new furniture for 35 years, says one teacher; a chimney collapsed and they had no electricity for two weeks.

Most of the children, however, are not actually orphans. "Because of alcohol a lot of parents just reject their kids, throw them out," says Tatiana Terekhova, the deputy director.

"There's also a significant amount of migration now from region to region because of unemployment," adds Rima Shelepova, a school inspector. Many parents just leave their children behind.

Extract from Red Cross Soup Kitchens in Southern Siberia Provide Food and Jobs

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Last modified on October 19, 2005  | © Telegram 2005