Russia's human rights envoy reports results of his activity

Russia's human rights envoy Oleg Mironov held a conference at RIA Novosti on Monday to present a report of his activities in 2001. The first chapter of Mironov's report dealt with protection of victims of terrorist acts and other crimes. Last year, according to Mironov's information, 300 terrorist acts -- twice the amount of similar crimes registered in 2000 -- were registered in all Russian regions except Chechnya. "What makes terrorism especially dangerous is that it cultivates violence as a means of solving political, economic or personal problems," reads the report. Citing the General Prosecutor's Office, the envoy said the number of parentless children in Russia had reached over 700,000, with only 5% of them being real orphans. The rest are classified as so-called "social orphans," i.e. children abandoned by their parents. According to Mironov's information, over 100,000 of such abandoned children are being registered annually.