Your ancient grief is clear to me...
Article by Elena Tribuleva,
Published in «Vecherniy Brest» (The Evening Brest) Newspaper,
November 21, 2001
The bark beetle came out in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha, which is worthwhile to be memorized.
For more than a decade the State National Park «Belovezhskaya Pushcha» has shuddered by numerous changes, which provokes unequivocal estimation. Together with the decision of UNESCO upon Park's being included in the List of the World Heritage, the Biosphere Reserve status of the Park and the European Diploma are indeed positive indicators.
Regarding the subordination of the Natural Reserve to the Property Management Department of the President and the subsequent nature protection priorities withdrawal is something that the local inhabitants of the Pushcha have big doubts about. As one would expect numerous heads of the Park could not promote the Park's improvement. It should be mentioned that it has been about a dozen in the chair of the Park.
The people from the Pushcha meet any memories regarding the former director general of the Park Vasiliy Zhukov with hostility. He used to share the idea of the well-known Ivan Titenkov, Manager of the Property Management Department, namely that reserved territories are to gain profits both for the own internal affairs and for the Property Management Department of the President. Exactly in Zhukov's times a powerful saw-mill worth 3.6 million German-marks has been bought from a German businessman put the Park into a huge debt.
However, the economic potential of Mr. Zhukov seems a childish amusement when comparing it with the grand scale of the present head of the Reserve Nickolai Bambiza who in May replaced Evgeny Smoktunovich, native born in Pushcha...
Monument to the bark beetle
It is not a secret that Mr. Smoktunovich, who was the head of the Park for less than half a year, was dismissed for one simple reason: he as much as his predecessors could not organize the work of the fated German sawmill by its maximal capacities for the maximum profit enough to pay off the currency credit to the banks. Certainly, Nickolai Bambiza, after the Pripyatski Reserve where he got a glory of a good economic planner, was extremely passionate about the saw-mill. At any price the saw-mill would be supplied by the wood. It was the first working day, if to believe the witnesses, that the new director went examining the Pushcha and when back declared: "In the Pripyatski Park it was practiced a forest-guard dismissal whenever a withered tree peak was found not be cut down. And here the trees are in abundance, and they must be cut". The speechless local workers tried to object: this is the Pushcha, the wild forest, the international reserve, unlike a timber enterprise. These are the old trees that create such a coloris and uniqueness of the primeval wood, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha is hidden in them. If a tree is 200 - 250 years old, it is quite natural that it might have a decay spot somewhere or a huge hole in some parts. But should this suggest that 80% of the trees are to be cut down?
The first confrontation, fortunately, did not manage to transform into a serious conflict. A bark beetle invasion on the Pushcha occurred and the old trees were peacefully forgotten: the harmful bark beetle boded well.
Actually, in spite of all the hatred and hostility towards the bark-beetle for its capability to destroy the standing spruce forest, many experts of the Park do not consider its invasion a tragedy for the reserve. The bark beetle has always existed in the Pushcha. Its last invasion took place at director Mr. Zhukov's "reign". Again five years ago he also expected to utilize the timber processing factory at its maximum because of the bark beetle. But while a long scientific dispute was in process whether it will do well or harm the beetle bark outbreak died out in it. Some Pushcha scientists share an opinion that the bark beetle is the natural element provided the natural balance in the Pushcha. For centuries long, Pushcha would to win it, so will it today. The human intervention into this process is only possible in its minimum like installation of pheromone and other traps which are successfully applied during the recent bark beetle invasion in Germany. They say, such devices were able to save two thirds of the reserved forest area inflicted by the beetle there. However, there is the opposite side to that: the cuttings for sanitary purposes prevent the beetle from its expansion - hence the pesthole is to be liquidated at once. Of the two different approaches one prefers the most convenient. Is it still necessary mentioning that the director preferred the latter sans hesitations?
Then the nonstop tree feeling of the Pushcha, not having a tree cut down since the war, set off in the Pushcha. «The bark beetle is worth a monument», Nickolai Bambiza would emphasize repeatedly, as the locals testify.
Alas, the monument for the harmful beetle was never built. The Park employees, having considered the clear cuttings a barbarity and the crime against the mankind, raised an alarm against on the superior levels. Shortly, a well known and recognized commission of the country leading experts in the forest protection field visited the Pushcha. The conclusion the commission arrived at was consistent: The clear cuttings must be stopped immediately. The timber enterprise methods in the unique natural Reserve are inadmissible.
The people say the director's ire was beyond its imagination. Among the first to feel that were those ones who spoke "their against" openly.
The forest felled - the employees dismissed
The most vulnerable among those petitioners was vise deputy director on science Heorhi Kazulka. Right at the end of October his contract would expire. The general director would not prolong or conclude it. After Mr. Kazulka was dismissed (nowadays unemployed with a degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biology), Vladimir Tolkach-70 years old, became a chair of the scientific department. People consider him a theorist and ideologist of clear sanitary cuttings in the Pushcha. In the near future, the people say, the staff of the scientific department (once world known for the great works on restoration of the bison population) is likely to be reduced. In any case, the best computers were withdrawn from the department the other day. It was more challenging to solve all odds with the second main opponent Evgeny Smoktunovich, after the Mr. Bambiza's arrival from the director's chair be lowered back to forester guardian of the National Park: his contract would expire only next spring. In fact, it was easier in the end: Mr. Smoktunovich contrived to get two discipline penalties for merely a couple of weeks. People say a hospital rescued him to have received the third one, which would automatically result in the dismissal: the Bambiza's predecessor was delivered with a critical condition there. Soon Evgeny Smoktunovich is expected to return back; and the majority having a sincere affection and respect towards him are sure: the dismissal will follow right away .
Dismissals of the oppositional employees became a norm in the Pushcha. One of the workers, once a manager in the Park, states that over 160 of the staff have been dismissed during Nickolai Bambiza half a year "reign". Among them are first class experts. One easily believes that provided one knows the abrupt character of the general director. "I happened to have worked with many directors, some were not as easy to come along with, but that was nothing comparing to the present one". That is what the former employee of the economical department of the Park said about her supervisor. The former employee is because right in October 10th, the whole economical department (4 employees but for the head of the department) appealed for a release from the office. The two got released within the following 10 minutes, while the next two employees had one month left. "It is far from our own initiative that we have appealed for that- we were compelled to. The alternative was either to appeal for a disposition or it would be done for you according to the remedial legislation"- these are the words of the suffered, a specialist with an economic background and working experience. But for what? "The chief of the department, Mr. Kravchuk now, is only grinning. We asked the director: well, transfer us to another position if we do not cope with this job. We all have children; we need to do for the living. Like fun we are. He says we demand too much". Dismissals affected nearly all the departments including the industrial sectors. And sometimes it did happen that the vacancies were taken by ones, whose qualification was put in doubt by the locals. Take Mr. Kravchuk, for example. People say that once director Zhukov discharged him from the post of the head of the economic department and «left» him somewhere as an engineer -forest-pathologist: "if you are not able to lead, do not try to". With the new director, Mr. Kravchuk, fully supporting his ideas, is again on the "horse".
Not only the office staff, but also ordinary workers, having a fault joined the line of the total dismissals by the director, with an idea to bring the Park in order. Grigory Dzik, the turner of 6-th category with more than 30 years of work experience, was dismissed for being drunk at work. According to Grigory Dzik's version, this day he did not have a drop of alcohol: the tractor operator drank just at his box-room and was caught by director's eyes. The tractor operator was tested on alcohol, and then dismissed, while Mr. Dzik's dismissal was the affect of that. "As this trouble was stirred up, I went immediately to our first-aid post. Having received no test there, I went to Kamenetz town, to the district hospital"- Gregory Dzik says. "I was testified properly there: I was as sober as ever". Mr. Dzik, notorious for his manners, went to court. But the same tractor operator witnessed . that they drank together that day: 100 grammas of alcohol for the successful election of the president. Now, this Judah is back in the Park, while my wife is the only breadwinner in the family. Maybe, she will not be sacked!", Grigory Dzik said with distress.
The foreman of the timber processing shop Vladimir Gritzuk still has no clue for his dismissal. He served his job with faith and truth for 30 years. He never argued with the heads and served with duties. And suddenly there is one reprimand, and then the second . He was on the sick leave for nearly two months. On November 5th he returned and wanted to go on holiday, for the previous several years, but got fired instead. The official formulation was: "improper attitude". He tried to appeal to the commission on the labor disputes, but the commission refused his request. People had told one of the correspondents of this newspaper how the commission solved a dispute in favor of a driver some time ago and the decision was to add him 6 thousand rubles to the salary. After the director employee politics the commission did not take the risk any more to perform on the side of the "humiliated and offended".
On the whole, it is apparent why the director rages and dismisses each and every one. He creates his own team among those people who are faithful to him and are good to be relied on. The new team is almost generated. Besides them, there is a new deputy director on trade Nina Bogush, a former companion of Nickolai Bambiza in the Pripyatski Reserve and a head of the tourism department Alexander Bambiza, people say his cousin. The «correct people » have occupied almost all the main posts.
Alas, the harmonious job is not really getting on . Or may be that is not the target.
A debt hole is deeper and deeper
The same former employees of the economical department say: although the situation was very complicated for the Park after the ill-starred saw bench purchase, the economy of the Park managed to make both ends meet. In the first quarter of this year, for example, there they could reach the scheduled parameters all the same. But the second and third quarters, already under the jurisdiction of Nickolai Bambiza, ended in an entire default. People share, that even the hay was harvested much less than expected this year - that it will not be enough food for bison. Hard to disbelieve. The debt pay - due to 1st of November was never started - is another attestation of the financial crisis of the Park. The people say that again it was possible to prolong its payment - till the next spring. Simultaneously, the salary of employees in the Park got down; even in its best times less than a hundred "bucks". In October, the staff of the auto park tried to revolt against the salary twice as low as usual. The drivers did not drive out and required meetings with the administration. The strike ended in the absence note to the most «loudmouthed» in the register.
The discontent, nevertheless, continues grow. The employees of the Park, not sharing the new director's views, have a lot of questions to him to receive answers on. For instance, there is a question upon the timber processing shop: thanks to the bark beetle there is copious amount of the wood to be processed in the Pushcha; however the so much promised gold rain does not pour down. More than that, the power engineering specialists were compelled to stop the electricity supply here: the debts had exceeded all permissible levels. However the hot issue is the salary. In August a brigade from Ukraine built a canopy at the timber processing plant. The people from Kamenyuki village rumor that the "easy" earnings were 700 - 800 dollars per person a month. The same is about the wages of the woodcutters invited from other reserves: three times more than the salary of local workers.
Far from just was the director's decision to withdraw the bus, once delivered the workers to dine. The distance from the administrative centre to the village is pretty remote. One hour is not enough to walk home, to have a meal and return, while the Park's employees can't afford to visit the local restaurant. That is how the bus served the employees. The new director calculated the expenses for a bus too heavy a burden for the Park's budget. At the same time, however, as the locals from Kamenyuki village say, from the first day of the director's post nomination on he did not take up the residence in the hotel, as his predecessors would, but instead resided in the forest motel-house for 6 persons in the Pashukovskoe forestry. And then as the euro-standard repair was undertaken, he moved further - to a cozy motel-house in Sviclochskoe forestry, approximately 60 kilometers away from the centre. And his daily tour to the office back and forth is not taken so burden-like.
The discontented by the director, are more the peacemakers, though few dare to argue. The combat has metamorphosed into belle letters - people write to the Property Management Department of the President. Last month Galina Zhuravkova, the present Manager of the Department, visited the Pushcha. And her feedback was manifest: the green light to all the initiatives of her protege Nickolai Bambiza. The locals, however, do not lose the hopes and continue to write. Eventually, there might be a change of leaders in the Property Management Department that did occur before. Or the persistent appeals of the Park employees, at last, will effect. The real cause is that the locals fear for the Pushcha- the reserve of the world importance, rewarded for the nature protection and scientific achievements by all possible awards. Incidentally, it can be deprived of one of them in the near future. The European Diploma is granted for the period of five years. In 2002, the Park should confirm that the requirement of the Council of Europe on the protection of the unique natural site is being implemented. Though there are several apprehensions that on account of the recent clear sanitary cuttings it is going to be problematical.