Mass Media Overview
Russian envoy aims to forge stronger ties with sister city Montclair
24.01.2012 17:00
http://www.northjersey.com/
Monday, June 6, 2011
By Linda Moss and Mark S. Porter
Dignitaries from Montclair's sister city in Russia sampled pizza, visited Ground Zero, saw a Broadway play, planted a tree, went to Montclair State University and tried to lay the foundation for more collaboration and cooperation with the township during their visit to the United States this weekend.
The group from Cherepovets, an industrial city in the Vologda region, arrived in New York Friday and ended up in Montclair Monday. The delegation, here to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Cherepovets and Montclair, met with the township police and fire chiefs in the morning and later in the afternoon spoke to the press about their trip.
"I like the township very much," Oleg Kuvshinnikov, mayor of Cherepovets, said through a translator. "It's quite different from our city. It's a beautiful city. It's very quiet. It has green. Very hospitable people live here."
In addition to the Russian mayor, the four-member Russian envoy included: Viacheslav Pozgalev, governor of the Vologda region; Leonid Iogman, first vice-governor of Vologda region; and Vladimir Lepeshichev, head of governor's Secretariat, Vologda region and interpreter for the group.
Citing "our long-established relationship with the United States, prior to the press conference Pozgalev told The Times he recalled historical interactions involving area Russians and U.S. citizens, such as a naval fleet that visited Russia in 1867 to show gratitude for supporting the Union in the U.S. Civil War. The flotilla's captain donated an American flag, which Pozgalev said is "carefully preserved in our museum."
Himself a former mayor of Cherepovets, Pozgalev cited the Russian city's current mayor, Kuvshinnikov, and Montclair's mayor, Jerry Fried, as "the two mayors of the new generation" who may work out "an agreement on future actions."
Pozgalev cited potential student and faculty exchanges involving schools in Montclair and Cherepovets, along with interactions between museums, adding that "we visited a very good museum here in Montclair."
Acknowledging there is little U.S. investment in the Vologda region, the Russian governor acknowledged that he and his colleagues hope to attract American investors in his region: "Our aim is to develop cooperation among middle-sized companies."
Montclair's sister city arrangement with Cherepovets goes back to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to the township. The collapse of centralized government left the city's 300,000 inhabitants with little or few mechanisms for procuring food or medicine. The Montclair-Cherepovets sister city program grew out of the need to help bring medicine and food to a region struggling to provide its people with these bare essentials, according to the township.
Montclair sent food and other supplied to help out the city's residents, who voiced their gratitude at today's press conference.
The first 12 delegates went to Cherepovets in 1990. Since then, Montclair professionals traveled to the city offering training, a number of student exchanges have also taken place, and, through the Montclair Rotary club, several Russian children received life-saving heart surgery in the United States, according to the township.
Sister City Committee Chair Juliana Belcsak arranged a busy itinerary for Montclair's Russian guests, which included a stop at MSU to meet with University President Susan Cole.
One of the goals of the trip was for the Russian officials and their Garden State counterparts to discuss more ways to collaborate, in term of Cherepovets sending art exhibits to the Montclair Art Museum, student exchanges and other joint ventures.
"I hope my visit will be an impetus for more cooperation," Kuvshinnikov said.