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Sub-Sections:
Russian Federation, Landmine Monitor Report 2007

Russian Federation

Mine Ban Treaty status

Not a State Party

Use, production, transfer in 2006-2007

Continued use in Chechnya

Stockpile

26.5 million

Contamination

APMs, AVMs, UXO, AXO

Estimated area of contamination

At least 60 km2 of mined areas in Chechnya;

unknown battle areas

Demining progress in 2006

Thousands of mines and explosive devices

disposed of (unofficial report)

Mine/ERW casualties in 2006

Total: 62 (2005: 60)

Mines:  0 (2005: 8)

ERW: 11 (2005: 39)

Cluster submunitions: 3 (2005: 0)

Victim activated IEDs: 16 (2005: 13)

Unknown devices: 32 (2005: 0)

Casualty analysis

Killed: 8 (3 civilians, 5 children) (2005: 24)

Injured: 54 (16 civilians, 7 children,

31 unknown, )

(2005: 36)

Estimated mine/ERW survivors

Unknown

Availability of services in 2006

Unchanged-inadequate

Mine action funding in 2006

International: $106,786/€85,000 (2005: none)

National: none reported

Key developments since May 2006

Russian forces and rebels continued to use antipersonnel mines in Chechnya. There has been sporadic use of antipersonnel mines and IEDs by insurgents in other parts of Russia. In March-May 2007 a Russian humanitarian demining mission cleared 620,000 square meters of suspected hazardous areas in Chechnya. Social protection and rehabilitation for people with disabilities including mine survivors deteriorated. The five-year program for people with disabilities including a special plan for disabled war veterans was further developed.

Mine Ban Policy

The Russian Federation has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It has often cited the military utility of antipersonnel mines, the lack of viable alternatives and the financial difficulties in destroying its large stockpile within four years as reasons for not joining. At a January 2007 press conference the chief of Russia’s engineering troops, Colonel-General Nikolay Serdtsev stated, “The Russian armed forces cannot allow themselves to give up the use of landmines, which for a long time will remain one of the most effective and inexpensive types of defensive weapon.”[1] However, Russia continues to express support for the treaty’s humanitarian objectives. A senior diplomat in Geneva stated in November 2006 that “a mine-free world remains our common goal. Nonetheless, we have noted on several occasions that our movement towards this goal has to be realistic and gradual, sustaining the necessary level of security and stability.”[2]

On 6 December 2006 Russia abstained from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 61/84, as it has each UNGA resolution supporting a global ban on antipersonnel landmines. As in previous years, Russia did not attend as an observer the Seventh Meeting of State Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in September 2006. After regularly attending meetings of the treaty’s intersessional Standing Committees in Geneva from 2000-2004, it was absent in May 2006 and April 2007.

Russia is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines (which entered into force for Russia on 2 September 2005). In November 2006 Russia attended the Eighth Annual Conference of State Parties to Amended Protocol II. In accordance with Article 13 of the protocol, Russia submitted a national annual report on 26 October 2006.

Russia exercised the option to defer for nine years compliance with Amended Protocol II’s requirements for self-destruction and self-deactivation of remotely delivered antipersonnel mines and for detectability of low metal content antipersonnel mines. Russia submitted a series of declarations with its ratification instrument that will guide its national implementation of Amended Protocol II.[3] Russia said in November 2006 that it plans to complete work to meet the technical requirements of Amended Protocol II by the end of 2007.[4]

UNICEF has reported that for 2007—in cooperation with both the ICBL and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)—it has prioritized efforts to sensitize the general public, as well as local and federal authorities, to the importance of the mine issue and to advocate for the Russian Federation’s accession to the Mine Ban Treaty.[5]

Production and Transfer

Russia produced at least 10 types of antipersonnel mines since 1992, including blast mines (PMN, PMN-2, PMN-4 and PFM-1S) and fragmentation mines (POMZ-2, OZM-72, MON-50, MON-90, MON-100 and MON-200). Russia has stated that it stopped production of blast mines in 1997.[6] Russia has been conducting research on modifications to existing landmines, new landmines and alternatives to landmines since at least 1997.[7]

Russia has had a moratorium on the export of antipersonnel mines that are not detectable or equipped with self-destruction devices since 1 December 1994. The moratorium formally expired in 2002; however, Russian officials have stated on a number of occasions, most recently in November 2006, that it is still being observed.[8] Russia is not known to have made any state-approved transfers of any type of antipersonnel mine since 1994.

In August 2006 Russia told the Conference on Disarmament, “We are interested in working out a universal international agreement on banning the transfer of the most dangerous antipersonnel mines. Within the CD framework we have a possibility to involve in negotiations the key producers and users of antipersonnel mines, as well as to reach a constructive cooperation among the States Parties and Non-Parties to the Ottawa Convention. We are convinced that ‘the mine’ problem should and could be solved in a comprehensive way taking into account real defensive and economic capabilities of each State.”[9]

Stockpiling and Destruction

In November 2004 Russia for the first time released official information on the number of antipersonnel mines in its stockpiles, when the Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov cited a figure of 26.5 million. The Minister stated that in 2000 Russia stockpiled 46 million antipersonnel mines, but had since destroyed or disposed of about 19.5 million of them.[10] In November 2006 a senior diplomat noted, “Over the recent years, more than 8 million APMs have been destroyed in Russia.”[11]

The Defense Minister forecast that approximately 23.5 million of the remaining 26.5 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines were subject to destruction or disposal between 2005 and 2015. He noted that Russia spends some 150-180 million rubles (US$5-6 million) per year on the disposal of outdated antipersonnel mines and mines falling under the restrictions of Amended Protocol II.[12]

Russian officials have acknowledged that Russian military units in other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States maintain antipersonnel mine stockpiles, such as 18,200 in Tajikistan and an unknown number in Georgia (Abkhazia).[13] Russia has apparently destroyed the stockpile of antipersonnel mines it had in the disputed Transnistria region of Moldova.[14]

Use

Russia has used mines on a regular basis since 1999, primarily in Chechnya, but also at times in Dagestan, Tajikistan and on the border with Georgia. Russia has generally argued that its mine usage has been necessary to stop flows of weapons, drugs and terrorists, and it maintains that it has been in full compliance with CCW Amended Protocol II.[15] The Ministry of Defense has developed guidelines on laying minefields in compliance with the protocol’s requirements. These are taught at the military schools and at special training courses in the Armed Forces.[16]

In June 2006 Russian officials confirmed to Landmine Monitor that Russian forces continued to use antipersonnel mines in Chechnya, both newly emplaced mines and existing defensive minefields, noting, “Antipersonnel mines are used to protect facilities of high importance.” They insisted that all use of antipersonnel mines “complies with Amended Protocol II,” that “all necessary documentation for minefields is retained,” and that all minefields “are fenced and the civilian population informed.” They indicated forces of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior and Border Guards use mines. They said Russian forces “do not use antivehicle mines” in Chechnya because the rebels “have no vehicles.”[17]

Use by Non-State Armed Groups

The Russian domestic media regularly has stories of bombings or armed attacks against state structures conducted by insurgent or separatist groups, as well as criminal elements, in Chechnya and other locations such as Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia.

Incidents involving explosive devices in Russian Federation 28 December 2006-13 June 2007[18]

Per region

Types of Explosive Devices

Total

APM

AVM

c/d IED

v/a IED

UXO

Unidentified

Chechnya

1

1

2

8

4

11

27

Ingushetia

-

-

-

4

1

4

9

Dagestan

-

-

2

4

-

1

7

Kabardino-Balkaria

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

Total

1

1

4

16

5

17

44

APM = antipersonnel mine; AVM = antivehicle mine; UXO = unexploded ordnance; IED = improvised explosive device; c/d = command-detonated; v/a = victim-activated

Russian police have said that the bulk of the weapons, including mines, recovered during 2006 were from military conflict zones, especially the Northern Caucasus.[19] The diffusion of explosive devices, both factory-produced and improvised, among the population in the region is also evident in media reports of arms seizures and cache discoveries.

Some reported incidents of the use of victim-activated explosive devices in various parts of the Russian Federation are:

  • On 18 July 2007, in Ordzhonikidzevskaya Stanitsa in Ingushetia, what was described as a hand-grenade with a tripwire exploded in a funeral procession, wounding seven civilians (including three children) and three militiamen.[20]
  • On 6 July 2007 the Federal Security Service division for North Ossetia reported that police discovered two caches protected by antipersonnel mines. The entrance to the first cache, which contained 13 antipersonnel mines, was protected with a tripwire-activated explosive device and next to the cache was a mine equipped with an antihandling device. The second cache was protected by a mine equipped with an antihandling device.[21]
  • On 19 May 2007, southwest of Moscow, local residents discovered a tripwire-activated improvised explosive device (IED) made from a hand-grenade.[22]

Landmine and ERW Problem

The Russian Federation is heavily contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Both mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination results from World War II; there are also substantial quantities of abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) in some areas. In addition to Chechnya, mine/ERW incidents have been reported in Ingushetia, Dagestan and North Ossetia. ERW remain an acute problem in Dagestan, specifically in Novolaksk, Botlikh and Buynaks districts.[23]

Mine Action

There is no civilian mine action program in the Russian Federation.[24] Mine clearance continues to be carried out by the Engineer Forces of the Ministry of Defense, demining brigades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergencies (EMERCOM).[25] The main responsibility for mine clearance remains with the engineer forces, with the Russian National Corps dealing mainly with unexploded aircraft bombs. Commercial companies such as Uniexpl and Fort in Moscow, and Iskatel in St. Petersburg, are also said to conduct clearance.[26] However, no updated information on demining by this companies is available.

In January 2007, in a news agency interview, the Chief of the Russian Federation engineering troops, Colonel-General Nikolay Serdtsev, declared that in order to organize clearance operations, “every year 150 specialists are trained in terrain and facility clearance of explosive objects (mine clearance) and mine detection services.” He also claimed that they “are developing a tool to detect mines and explosive devices, this tool operates on the basis of subsurface radio location and it has software and hardware which facilitates and expedites mine clearance and reduces risks to the engineers.” The tool was said to have been tested and that it would be used by troops in the near future.[27]

In September 2006 the Russian Federation reported that it was ready to assist other States Parties to the CCW by the training of experts in mine clearance. [28]

Survey and Marking of Affected Areas

In June 2006 Russian officials informed Landmine Monitor that “all necessary documentation for minefields is retained,” and that all minefields “are fenced and the civilian population informed as per Amended Protocol II obligations.”[29] However, Landmine Monitor has not been able to confirm marking of the hazardous areas and it was previously reported that in Chechnya minefields and areas contaminated with UXO are not marked.[30]

Mine/ERW Clearance

Comprehensive official information on clearance figures has not been provided to Landmine Monitor for 2006; however, the Minister of Emergencies, Sergei Shoigu, declared on 29 December 2006 that during the year, EMERCOM had destroyed more than 215,000 explosive devices.[31]

The Director of the Russian Federal Security Service, Nikolai Patrushev, had announced that from January 2006 and until 9 December 2006, security personnel had discovered and destroyed more than 60 IEDs.[32] In Irkutsk region, the regional division of EMERCOM reported discovering and destroying 738 mines and projectiles dating from World War II.[33] Another press report the Russian Forces Baltic Fleet indicated that, on average, engineers of the engineer battalion of the Baltic Fleet clear about 40,000 explosive remnants of World War II each year.[34]

Russia reported in September 2006 that it conducted clearance operations in Chechnya since 2005; details have not been provided.[35]

In November 2006 Russia declared that, “the Russian side has completed the gradual handover to Tajikistan of minefield records of mines laid along the Tajik-Afghan border.”[36]

In 2007 media reported that in Smolensk region from January to April 2007 more than 140 ERW were detected and cleared.[37] In addition, by 11 July 2007 EMERCOM engineers had cleared 65 ERW from World War II in Kaluga region.[38]

Engineer units of the Combined Peace-Keeping Forces in South Ossetia conduct small-scale mine clearance operations on a regular basis.[39]

Support to Mine Action

In September 2006 Russia reported that during 2005 and 2006 EMERCOM had conducted mine clearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Angola.[40] Media reports have noted demining operations carried out by Russian peacekeeping operations; for example, in Georgia, 10 mines were reported to have been discovered and diffused in 2007.[41] Major-General Sergei Chaban, commander of the joint peacekeeping forces in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict area, claimed that “Russian peacekeepers help the locals sweep the area for the landmines and that his servicemen disarmed almost 20,000 rounds and landmines.”[42] On 11 July 2007 a Russian news agency reported that Russia would deploy a team of 40 deminers to Lebanon in 2008.[43]

Landmine/ERW/IED Casualties

There is no comprehensive and publicly available casualty data collection mechanism in the Russian Federation. The primary source of casualty information is media reports, which do not clearly distinguish between devices causing the incidents. In 2006 casualties due to mines, ERW and IEDs continued to be reported in the media, however, they do not reflect the full extent of the problem.

Landmine Monitor identified at least 62 casualities (eight killed and 54 injured) in incidents that were clearly caused by mines, ERW or victim-activated IEDs. Within this total the ICRC recorded 36 people injured by mines/ERW in Russian republics in the Northern Caucasus: 21 in Ingushetia, 13 in North Ossetia and two in Dagestan.[44] In addition, Landmine Monitor media analysis identified at least 26 casualties (eight killed and 18 injured); all casualties but one person killed in Dagestan occurred outside the Northern Caucasus. At least one policeman was killed and 12 children and six women were injured. Media reports of one person injured in Dagestan and four injured in Ingushetia were not added to the total as insufficient detail was available for cross-checking.[45]

The 2006 casualty rate appears to be similar to that of 2005 (60 casualties). In addition, in 2006 there were 150 casualties where the detonation method was unknown, substantially less than in 2005 (210 casualties). [46] The use of IEDs, usually remote-detonated, in criminal acts is common and these often involve groups of casualties; the casualty rate is largely dependent on the size of the group.

Due to imprecise use of device type terminology in the media, the frequent use of the term “fougasse” to signify both mine and bomb, and language such as “a person exploded on,” no further distinctions can be made.

The media also reported at least 14 Russian military casualties (seven killed and seven injured) in seven mine/ERW incidents in Chechnya in 2006: there were five antipersonnel mine incidents, one cluster submunition incident and one unspecified mine incident.[47] In 2006 two Russians from the joint peacekeeping forces were involved in an antipersonnel mine clearance accident in South Ossetia, Georgia; one was injured and the status of the other was unknown.[48] Two Russian embassy personnel were injured by a mine in Afghanistan in 2006.[49]

Casualties continued to be reported in the Russian Federation in 2007; in May two federal military personnel were killed when they activated an unknown device while investigating an encampment in Ingushetia.[50] Eight Russian military mine/IED casualties in Chechnya were also reported as of June 2007.[51] In January 2007 two Russian peacekeepers were severely injured by a mine in South Ossetia.[52]

The total number of mine casualties in Russia is not known. However, there are believed to be significant numbers of mine/ERW survivors from the war in Afghanistan and the conflicts in Chechnya and the Northern Caucasus, as well from World War II.[53] From 1999 to December 2003 more than 2,500 mine casualties, including at least 600 killed and 1,700 injured, were recorded by Russian federal forces in Chechnya.[54] Over 120,000 people in the Russian Federation have been disabled due to armed conflict and war injuries, not including those from World War II.[55] It is estimated that there are 15 million people with disabilities in the Russian Federation.[56]

Survivor Assistance

Medical, surgical, physical rehabilitation and reintegration services are available for mine/ERW survivors in the Russian Federation, mostly for war veterans from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Russia has extensive military medical experience in dealing with blast injuries and there are five rehabilitation centers to address the needs of disabled Russian war veterans. Services, which are free to veterans, include prosthetics, rehabilitation and psychosocial support; however, many people are not aware that these services are available.[57] Assistance and rehabilitation services, as well as benefits, were said to be inadequate.[58]

The rights of mine survivors and other people with disabilities are protected under the 1995 Federal Law on Social Security of the Disabled. Regional legislation also addresses the needs of people with disabilities, particularly war veterans.[59] However, these laws are not enforced and people with disabilities continue to be denied equal social and economic opportunities.[60] For example, in 2007 an investigation into a collective appeal by victims of the Beslan school seizure to the Prosecutor’s Office in North Ossetia reported infringements of the legal right to rehabilitation, including insufficient rehabilitation services and a lack of individual rehabilitation programs.[61] According to the NGO Mothers of Beslan, many siege survivors had to travel to clinics in Moscow and St. Petersburg at their own cost to receive rehabilitation.[62]

In October 2006 the All-Russian Society of the Disabled in Moscow reported at its national conference that there were legislative limitations on the number of prosthetic limbs and other assistive devices available and that legislation also hampered the employment of people with disabilities.[63] Approximately 90 percent of people with disabilities were unemployed despite quotas for their employment.[64] A federal government decree in early 2006 also raised the criteria for obtaining disabled status and the procedures for medical examination; previous regulations on disability assessment were repealed.[65] Circumstances for people with disabilities also continued to deteriorate under the Law on Monetary Benefits, which replaced disability concessions, including for transport and medicine, with reimbursements.[66]

As of mid-August 2007 the Russian Federation had not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol allowing for the monitoring of disability activities.

Survivor Assistance Strategic Framework

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development is responsible for disability issues. Government bodies responsible for human rights protection also protect the rights of people with disabilities. Medical assistance and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities are provided within the framework of the federal program, Social Support for the Disabled 2006-2010.[67] This includes a sub-program for the social protection and rehabilitation of people with disabilities due to war injuries. Program aims include improving medical assistance and rehabilitation services through the construction and repair of facilities.[68] Reportedly, the 2006-2010 program requires significant funding increases to fulfill its goals.[69]

In June 2006 surgeons from mine/ERW-affected regions in the Russian Federation, (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and North Ossetia), as well as Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, attended a war-surgery seminar held by the ICRC in cooperation with expert medical staff from the Russian Military-Medical Academy in St. Petersburg.[70]

The International Institute for the Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Landmine Survivors (IPRLS) and its Russian partner, the St. Petersburg Institute of Prosthetics, continued to assist mine survivors with surgical and rehabilitation assistance. An IPRLS program provided technicians in Russia with advanced US-manufactured prosthetic components in 2006.[71] In the North Caucasus ICRC provided ad hoc emergency support for health facilities in Ingushetia and North Ossetia and major structural repairs for one hospital in Dagestan. The Vladikavkaz Orthopedic Center in North Ossestia provided services for war injured people, including mine survivors from South Ossetia, Georgia in 2006, with ICRC support.[72]

The numerous war veterans groups and associations of disabled war veterans in many regions of Russia advocate for improved legislation, benefits and services including physical rehabilitation and social and economic reintegration activities.

Funding and Assistance

In 2006 Spain contributed €85,000 (US$106,786) in-kind in training of EMERCOM personnel at its International Demining Center in Spain.[73]


[1] “Russia needs landmines: army general,” Agence France-Presse, 19 January 2007.

[2] Statement by Amb. Anatoly I. Antonov, Director of Department of Security Affairs and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eighth Annual Meeting of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 6 November 2006.

[3] For details of the declarations, see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 854-855.

[4] Statement by Amb. Anatoly I. Antonov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eighth Annual Meeting of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 6 November 2006.

[5]UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA), “Inter-Agency Transitional Workplan for the North Caucasus, Russian Federation, 2007,” 12 December 2006, pp. 40-42, www.reliefweb.int, accessed 29 May 2007.

[6] Statement by Russia, Third Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, 10 December 2001. In January 2005 Russia said it had not developed, produced or supplied blast mines to its Armed Forces for more than nine years. Statement by Amb. Leonid Skotnikov, Plenary Meeting of the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, 27 January 2005.

[7] Maj. Gen. Alexander Averchenko, “Traditional and New Tasks,” Amreysky Sbornik Magazine, No. 1, 1997. In 2004 Russia said it has spent or plans to spend 3.33 billion rubles (about $116 million) on research, development and production of new engineer munitions, including alternatives to antipersonnel mines. Statement by Sergei Ivanov, Minister of Defense, parliamentary hearings on ratification of Amended Protocol II, 23 November 2004. Average exchange rate for 2004: US$1 = RUB28.8170. Landmine Monitor estimate based on www.oanda.com.

[8] In November 2006 Ambassador Anatoly I. Antonov stated, “Starting from 1994 we have been observing the moratorium on the export of the most dangerous APMs.” Eighth Annual Meeting of States Parties of CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 6 November 2006.

[9] Statement by Amb. Valery Loshchinin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, Plenary Meeting of the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, 10 August 2006.

[10] Statement by Sergei Ivanov, parliamentary hearings on ratification of Amended Protocol II, 23 November 2004. Russian officials have given different totals for destroyed stocks. In January 2005 an official said over seven million stockpiled antipersonnel mines had been destroyed. Statement by Amb. Leonid Skotnikov, Plenary Meeting of the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, 27 January 2005.

[11] Statement of Amb. Anatoly I. Antonov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eighth Annual Meeting of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 6 November 2006.

[12] Statement by Sergei Ivanov, parliamentary hearings on ratification of Amended Protocol II, 23 November 2004.

[13] Bilateral negotiations concerning the disposition of Russian stockpiles of antipersonnel mines in Tajikistan were reported to be ongoing; Tajikistan Article 7 Report, Form B, 3 February 2003.

[14] Letter from the Russian Embassy in Chisinau, Moldova, No. 282, to Ana Rudico, Landmine Monitor researcher for Moldova, 18 May 2006; Letter from Kenneth Pickles, Deputy Head, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Moldova, Chisinau, 31 March 2006. In May 2006 Russia stated to Landmine Monitor that there are no stockpiles of landmines with Russian forces in Transnistria. According to information received by the OSCE Mission in May 2005 from the Headquarters of the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Transnistria, a stockpile of 25,423 antipersonnel mines held by Russian forces there were destroyed. The dates and means of destruction are not known and the process was not verified or financed by the OSCE.

[15] See, for example, statement by Amb. Anatoly I. Antonov to the CCW Group of Governmental Experts, Geneva, 18 November 2003.

[16] Statement by Amb. Anatoly I. Antonov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eighth Annual Meeting of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 6 November 2006.

[17] Interview with Russian Federation delegation, CCW Group of Governmental Experts, Geneva, 23 June 2006; translation provided by the Russian delegation and notes by Human Rights Watch. While Russia has regularly acknowledged using antipersonnel mines in Chechnya in the past, in August 2005 Russian military officials claimed that Ministry of Defense forces had not used antipersonnel mines in Chechnya in 2004 or 2005. They said they could not comment on whether other Russian forces (Interior Ministry, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Border Guards or others) had used them. Interview with Russian Federation delegation, CCW Group of Governmental Experts, Geneva, 8 August 2005. For a summary of use from 1999-2004, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1186-1187. See also report on Chechnya in this edition of Landmine Monitor.

[18] Data compiled from public sources including RIA Novosti, ITAR-TASS, Interfax, Radio Liberty, Agency of National News, and Kavkazsky Uzel news agency. These mostly cite reports from the law enforcement bodies in the North Caucasian republics.

[19] “Over 400,000 weapons, ammunition seized in 10M06 in Russia,” Rai Novostri, 28 November 2006.

[20] “Criminal Case Is Prosecuted Due to Explosion at Teacher’s Funeral,” Kavkazsky Uzel, 18 July 2007,

www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, accessed 6 August 2007. Landmine Monitor translations throughout. Hand-grenades are easily turned into tripwired antipersonnel mines by removing the hand-grenade’s retarder so that the grenade will explode immediately after the safety pin is extracted by tripwire.

[21] “Law-enforcement agencies averted a series of large terrorist attacks in North Ossetia,” Kavkazsky Uzel, 6 July 2007, www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[22] “Attack prevented at residential house in Moscow,” Kavkazsky Uzel, 21 May 2007, www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[23] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1100. See report on Chechnya in this edition of Landmine Monitor.

[24] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1056.

[25] Presidential Decree No. 1010, “On Russian National Corps for Emergent Humanitarian Operations,” 13 November 1995. The formal title of EMERCOM is the Russian National Corps of Emergency Humanitarian Operations of the Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Resources.

[26] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1056.

[27] “Russia Needs Landmines for Border Protection – Engineering Troops Chief,” BBC Monitoring, 28 January 2007.

[28] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form B, 29 September 2006.

[29] Interview with Russian delegation, CCW Group of Governmental Experts, Geneva, 23 June 2006; translation provided by the Russian delegation and notes by Human Rights Watch. See the report on Chechnya in this edition of Landmine Monitor.

[30] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 942; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1190-1191.

[31] “Russian Ministry of Emergencies Marks its 16th Anniversary since its Establishment,” RIAN, 29 December 2006, http://rian.ru, accessed 4 August 2007.

[32] “More than 300 Terrorist Acts Prevented in Russia this year, Patrushev Says,” RIAN, 19 December 2006, http://rian.ru, accessed 4 August 2007.

[33] “738 Artillery and Mortar Shells Cleared in Irkutsk Region,” RIAN, 9 November 2006, http://rian.ru, accessed 31 July 2007.

[34] “Interview with a Representative of the Press-service of the RF Baltic Fleet,” RIAN, 23 May 2006, http://rian.ru, accessed 31 July 2007.

[35] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form B, 29 September 2006. See report on Chechnya in this edition of Landmine Monitor.

[36] Statement by Amb. Anatoly I. Antonov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eighth Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 6 November 2006.

[37] “More than 140 Remnants of WW II cleared in Smolensk Region during three months,” NewsRu.Com, 8 April 2007, www.newsru.com, accessed 4 August 2007.

[38] Svetlana Sergeeva, “Explosive Remnants of WW2 Cleared in Kaluga Region,” Regions.R, 11 July 2007,

www.regions.ru, accessed 4 August 2007.

[39] See, for example, “Georgia Expresses Condolences Due to the Peace-keeper Killed in Mine Incident in South Ossetia,” Kavkaz Memorial, 14 August 2006, http://kavkaz.memo.ru; “Six Anti-Personnel Mines Cleared in the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Zone,” Regnum, 11 October 2006, www.regnum.ru. See the report on Georgia in this edition of the Landmine Monitor.

[40] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form G, 29 September 2006.

[41] “Russian peacekeepers call for immediate talks on South Ossetia conflict,” BBC Monitoring, 17 July 2007.

[42] “Russian Peacekeepers accused of laying landmines on the Abkhazian Border,” WPS, 14 March 2007.

[43] “Russia to send 40 sappers to Lebanon in 2008,” RIA Novosti, 11 July 2007, http://en.rian.ru, accessed 11 July 2007.

[44] Email from Didier Reck, Regional Head of Physical Rehabilitation Programmes, ICRC, Moscow, 8 August 2007.

[45] Landmine Monitor examined press reports from January 2006 to December 2006 in English and Russian language media for casualties in the Russian Federation, excluding Chechnya. Incidents where sufficient detail was lacking to determine whether a device was victim-activated were excluded from the total. This is a more accurate methodology than used in previous years.

[46] In 2006, 226 IED incidents were added to the total, but only 16 of them were clearly victim-activated. These incidents have been re-examined and subtracted from last year’s total. See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, pp. 1057-1058.

[47] Landmine Monitor examined press reports from January 2006 to December 2006 in English and Russian language media. These casualties are not included in the total reported by the Landmine Monitor for the Russian Federation; see report on Chechnya in this edition of Landmine Monitor.

[48] “Balancing on the Brink of War; Tbilisi and Moscow’s demonstrative exchange of major military exercises,” Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie, No. 25, 21-27 July 2006, p. 2; “Land mine blast injures Russian peacekeeper in breakaway Georgian region,” Associated Press, 15 July 2006; “Kokoity: Georgia started South Ossetia ‘mine war’,” 31 August 2006, Kavkazsky Uzel, http://kavkaz.memo.ru, accessed 21 July 2007.

[49] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1058.

[50] “Two Contract Soldiers killed in Ingushetia,” Kavkaz Memorial, 1 May 2007, http://kavkaz.memo.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[51] “Landmine kills five police officers in Chechnya,” Xinhua, 24 February 2007, http://english.people.com.cn; “Explosion in Chechnya: five dead,” Grani, 23 February 2007, http://grani.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[52] Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), “OSCE Chairman voices concern over violence in zone of Georgian-Ossetian conflict,” Reliefweb (Madrid), 29 January 2007, www.reliefweb.int, accessed 18 June 2007.

[53] Matthew Fisher, “Afghan war still haunts Russian vets,” CanWest News Service, 27 December 2006,

www.canada.com, accessed 6 August 2007.

[54] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 862.

[55] Statement by Maria Artemovna Bolshakova, Chair of the Subcommission for the Families of Soldiers, Soldiers’ Mothers, Widows, Veterans of War and Military Service, All-Russian Social Health Forum, 31October-1 November 2006, Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, www.oprf.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[56] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2006: Russia,” Washington, DC, 6 March 2007.

[57] Matthew Fisher, “Afghan war still haunts Russian vets,” CanWest News Service, 27 December 2006,

www.canada.com, accessed 6 August 2007.

[58] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1058; “Social Support for the Disabled in 2006-2010,”

www.demos-center.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[59] See for example, Sverdlovsk Region Branch of the Union of veterans of Afghanistan, “Legislation,”

http://rsva-ural.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[60] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2006: Russia,” Washington, DC, 6 March 2007; see Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1058.

[61] “Violations of the rights of persons with disabilities identified in Beslan North Ossetia,” Kavkazsky Uzel, 12 March 2007, www.kavkaz-zel.ru; for detail on landmine use and casualties in the Beslan siege see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 875.

[62] “Mothers of Beslan: allegations of ill-treatment of victims of the terrorist attack,” Kavkazsky Uzel, 15 July 2007, www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[63] “Disabled Activists Decry a Nation’s Apathy,” Moscow Times, Issue 3522, p. 1, 19 October 2006,

www.themoscowtimes.com, accessed 6 August 2007.

[64] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2006: Russia,” Washington, DC, 6 March 2007.

[65] International Labour Organization, “NATLEX database reference (2006-02-20RUS-2006-R-74398),”

www.ilo.org, accessed 6 August 2007.

[66] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2006: Russia,” Washington, DC, 6 March 2007.

[67] Government of the Russian Federation, “Resolution #832 of 29.12.2005 of the RF Government on the adoption of the Federal Program Social Support for The Disabled in 2006-2010,” www.demos-center.ru, accessed 6 August 2007. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1105-1106.

[68] “Social Support for the Disabled in 2006-2010,” www.demos-center.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[69] Statement by Maria Artemovna Bolshakov, 31 October-1 November 2006, Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, www.oprf.ru, accessed 6 August 2007.

[70] ICRC, “Russian Federation: War-surgery seminar in St Petersburg,” 2 June 2006, www.icrc.org, accessed 6 August 2007.

[71] Email from Mark Pitkin, Director, IPRLS, 23 May 2007.

[72] ICRC, “Annual Report 2006,” Geneva, May 2007, p. 265.

[73] Spain Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2007. Average exchange rate for 2006: €1 = US$1.2563. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2007.