Putin's Russia to become an Ecovillage nation?

[Gerrard Winstanley]

RUSSIA TO BECOME AN ECO-VILLAGE NATION?, By William Kotke    
http://www.loveforlife.com.au/node/3654    

Monday, 04 February 2008  

Vladimir Putin has indicated full support of Dmitriy Medvedev for the 
post of President of the Russian Federation. Medvedev, who is
presently First Deputy Prime Minister has indicated enthusiastic
support for the concept of eco-villages. Medvedev will be the
candidate of the Edinaya Rossiya Party.

Medvedev expressed his support of the concept of eco-villages in a
March 5, 2007 online conference organized by the newspaper Izvestia
and the internet portal Yandex and broadcast by TV channel "Vesti-24."
During the interview the host suggested that the outlook of the nation
is shifting. Medvedev replied, "Yes, and [the] psychology is changing
too. People feel themselves in a completely different way."

The host stated that the question of eco-villages was brought up
because he had received 5,000 emails from supporters of the "Kin
Domains" concept before the show asking about the plan to give each
Russian family a hectare of public land to create a Kin Domain and the
allowance for them to be organized into eco-villages.

The idea of "Kin Domains," greatly expands, in time and space, the 
tradition of families having a rural plot, called dachas, where they 
relax in the summer and grow gardens. The idea has grown out of a
series of books by Vladimir Megre which feature the contemporary 
Russian-Siberian eco-mystic, Anastasia. ( www.ringingcedars.com )

The Anastasia eco-spiritual movement has organized in most major
Russian cities and has its own political party that is aligned with
the parties supporting Putin. The books have also sparked eco-village
organizing in many countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe
and the english speaking countries. The basic idea of the Kin Domain
is for each family to live self-sufficiently on their domain using
Permaculture concepts, while those that choose, can organize their
plots into eco-villages that feature crafts and local production.

LAND OFFERED

Medvedev speaks of the district of Belgorod Oblast, near the Ukraine 
border that he has visited, where political moves are already under way 
toward arranging land for this idea in that area.

"Thus the idea of Kin's Domains in this regard is absolutely positive 
and it is related to the idea of low-rise construction. By the way, 
those processes are going quite well in some regions. Let's take, for 
example, the Belgorod oblast. I happened to drop by into one of the 
offices with the Governor. This office is in charge of registration of 
paperwork for the land and I was surprised in a good way by the price 
for land. Not too much, not one hectar yet. However, enough for building 
projects. They offered about 2500 sq.m, if I'm not mistaken. And the 
price for this land in today's Russia sounds almost "funny" - something 
around 10-15 thousand roubles ($300-$400 USD). So one can get such piece 
of land but on certain terms and conditions: within 5 years there must 
be a house build there. And for three years this house can't be sold not 
to allow any profiteering."

One Russian journalist spotlights the distinction of the concept from 
simply being a "farmer."

"The Siberians use the term "kin's domain" to emphasize the distinction 
between these estates and the usual cottage settlements. This is not a 
field that developers have carved up into parcels of 10 or 20 ares and 
begun to build luxury homes to order for city folk, these are not 
farmers' residences existing solely for the purpose of profit from 
agriculture, but precisely domains, in which a large family can arrange 
its way of life according to its own taste." Tatiana Burdakova, 
Rossiyskaya gazeta, 4 October 2007."

During the interview, Medvedev indicated to the supporters that he 
understood the deeper meaning of the Kin Domains. He said, "Of course, I 
know them. Moreover, if you do not take into account some elements, 
related to how those questions take shape and what first, second and 
third level of sense they have, the whole idea of kin's domains as it 
has been worded here is positive in general."

In his statement of support, Putin said about Medvedev, "There is no 
shame and no fear involved in transferring the primary reins for the 
running of the country, the fate of Russia, into the hands of a person 
like this."

William H. Kotke, author of the books, Garden Planet: The Present Phase 
Change of the Human Species ( www.gardenplanetbook.com ) and The Final 
Empire: The Collapse of Civilization and the Seed of the Future ( 
www.thefinalempirebook.com ).
 
Last Updated ( Monday, 04 February 2008 )  

Link to this article: http://www.loveforlife.com.au/node/3654