THE PEOPLE OF KOSTROMA REJECT NUCLEAR POWER IN FIRST EVER REGIONAL REFERENDUM HELD IN RUSSIA KOSTROMA, 9th Dec 1996 - Today in the Kostroma Region of Russia, situated 400 km to the north-east of Moscow, history was being made as the preliminary results of the first ever regional referendum were announced. The local population voted overwhelmingly against the construction of a nuclear power plant. This referendum, permitted under the Russian Constitution adopted in 1993, is now legally binding and the decision can only be changed by a further referendum. "This clearly shows that when people are given a choice they dont want to live with nuclear power". said Eduard Gismatullin of Greenpeace Russia "The people of Kostroma dont want the threat of a Chernobyl accident on their doorstep and they dont want to live with radioactive contamination in their rivers and lakes." This first historic test case was organised by a local community action group calling itself 'In The Name of Life'. The group, consisting mainly of Kostroma senior citizens, have won an important battle against the Russian nuclear industry. The Ministry of Atomic Energy (MINATOM) have plans to construct new reactors in other regions of Russia, and Greenpeace hopes that this referendum will now be replicated in those regions to block those plans. "This could be the beginning of the end of nuclear power in Russia. If other communities follow the example of Kostroma they can stop the construction of nuclear power plants in their district."said Gismatullin. "It is high time to leave this outdated and dangerous technology in the past, and today's result provides the hope that this will happen". In fact Russia does not need new nuclear plants with one of it's greatest potential energy resources being the implementation of energy efficiency measures. Although estimates vary, many experts agree that there is massive cost-effective energy efficiency potential in the country. The Institute of Energy Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences estimates the potential for energy conservation in Russia at 40-45% of the current level of consumption. The Kostroma referendum is following in the footsteps of others held in western Europe and Asia where nuclear power has been halted through through referenda. In Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Italy nuclear power was rejected by national referenda, while in Japan and Taiwan communities voted against nuclear power in regional referenda. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eduard Gismatullin in Kostroma on ++7 0942 577227 OR Karen Richardson in Greenpeace Moscow on ++7 095 978 3950 NOTES TO EDITOR
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