Sergey Borisov: Russian defense sphere de-energized

RAO UES of Russia demonstrated once again the extent of preparation for the heating season. The problem of non-payment for the energy supply has been settled, and the regions have finally started paying. The practice of "de-energizing" is now being applied to the military. Military establishments are de-energized in any part of the country. It looks as though the power engineers decided to de-energize the whole defense system of Russia. As RAO UES now determines which military objects may function, the head of RAO, Anatoly Chubais, should to be appointed Defense Minister then. Perhaps he knows better which planes should fly and which soldiers of which units maybe fed with hot meals and where they should eat packed meals. Foreign intelligence services are bewildered. As from now, they will have to keep up not only with the Russian military, but the plans of the power engineers as well.

The position of Russian power engineers can be understood as well. They do not wish to supply energy until the debts are liquidated. But it is also important to understand in this case that the problem of energy debt non-payment is a governmental problem.

Recently, a meeting of Anatoly Chubais with President Putin was broadcast on TV. It can be hardly believed that the problem of non-payment for the energy supplies to military objects has not been touched upon. However, if the problem has been discussed, and no solution for the problem has been found on the top level, why then demand repayment of the debts from Siberian and Far Eastern military men?

Once, the electric energy belonged to the people and hydroelectric power stations were nation-wide building sites. Then happened what Anatoly Chubais calls "privatization." People controlling heat and energy supplies demand duly payments for the supplies from the population. However, it does not guarantee that the supplies to our homes will be regular. It sometimes happen that you may be de-energized even if you pay for the energy supplies regularly, but some industrial building next to you is a debtor.

The problem of energy debts is to be settled on the top governmental level, otherwise the power engineers will de-energize strategically important military objects, and the people living in the military units will have to cook their meals on a camp fire.

Sergey Borisov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/01/29/36278.html