[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1148-E1149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ALEXANDR NIKITIN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 17, 1998

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the ironic phrase 
``no good deed goes unpunished`` suits the case of Russian citizen 
Alexandr Nikitin. Most Russian officials will be the first to admit 
that the collapsed Soviet military-industrial complex left behind a 
deplorable environmental legacy which affects not only the Russian 
Federation but also Russia's neighbors. The best known example is 
Chernobyl, but environmental specialists could provide a much longer 
list of environmental ``hot spots.'' Regrettably, certain elements of 
the Russian military and security service seem

[[Page E1149]]

determined to continue the Soviet practice of hiding the truth about 
environmental depredation.
  Mr. Speaker, retired Russian naval officer Alexandr Nikitin has been 
charged with ``revealing state secrets''--and if convicted, could 
receive the death sentence--for his work with the Norwegian 
environmental organization ``Bellona'' in exposing both the Soviet and 
Russian Navy's nuclear waste dumping around the White Sea and Kola 
Peninsular in northeast Russia. Nikitin and his supporters claim that 
all the material he secured for Bellona's report, ``The Russian 
Northern Fleet: Sources of Radioactive Contamination,'' had already 
been published in open sources.
  Originally charged in February 1996, he was held in detention until 
December 1996, when an international outcry was raised in his behalf. 
Still the investigation continues to drag on and on and on.
  The problem, from the standpoint of the investigators and the 
security services, is that the Russian Federation has a constitution 
with provisions on civil liberties, which some in Russia take 
seriously, and there are now lawyers in Russia who actually know the 
law and defend their clients. At first, the investigators threatened to 
indict Nikitin on secret unpublished military instructions, but this 
was in conflict with Part 3, Art. 15 of the Constitution, ``no 
regulatory legal act affecting the rights, liberties or duties of the 
human being and citizen may apply unless it has been published 
officially for general knowledge.'' Now after six attempted 
indictments, investigators have produced an indictment that the claim 
will pass constitutional muster.
  The prominent Ukrainian writer Nicholai Gogol wrote a fictional story 
about a legal case that dragged on for years in Tsarist Russia. Nikitin 
must identify with a character from that story.
  Through efforts of concerned human rights and environmental 
activists, the international community has begun to focus attention on 
the Nikitin case. Amnesty International has declared him as Russia's 
only political prisoner since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Prime 
Ministers of Norway and Canada have raised Nikitin's case with Prime 
Minister Chernomyrdin, and President Clinton has called for ``just 
deliberations'' in the case. A couple of weeks ago, former Soviet 
President Gorbachev stated that ``there is nothing to [the Nikitin 
case], but that ``democratic Russia still can't let go of its affection 
for catching spies.''
  Meanwhile, back on the streets of St. Petersburg, Alexandr Nikitin 
has been followed, believe it or not, by a group of ``men in black.'' 
The tires on his car have been slashed, and his door locks filed with 
glue. Recently, one of his lawyers was accosted by unidentified thugs 
and told to ``stay away from this.'' Another lawyer suggests, quite 
plausibly, that the security services realize their case is an 
embarrassment, and they want Nikitin to fear for his life and that of 
his family so that he will admit to the charges in exchange for 
amnesty.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe sincerely that the American people and the 
Congress wish the Russian people well, and we wish to work together in 
areas such as the environment that will benefit both our peoples. But, 
the case of Alexandr Nikitin raises serious doubts about the Russian 
military and security services to find a reasonable balance between 
security and the public interest.
  I recognize that the Russian Government and the people are working 
toward civilian control of the military and an established rule of law 
system. The resolution of the Nikitin case will be a significant 
indicator of progress in these areas.

                          ____________________