Eng/Russian/Nat

Russian President Boris Yeltsin begins an historic visit to Norway today (Monday) - the first made by a Russian leader to its neighbour.

He plans to patch up bilateral relations, which soured following the recent arrest in Russia of an environmental activist working for the Norwegian group Bellona.

The detention of Alexander Nikitin will be high on the agenda when Yeltsin meets Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Aging vessels litter the Russian sea port of Severomorsk - home to Russia's powerful Northern Fleet.

At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union had the largest submarine force in the world with over 300 active submarines, half of which were nuclear powered.

But following the break-up of the USSR and Russia's economic decline, what was once the pride of the Soviet Navy has fallen on hard times.

The Northern Fleet no longer represents a military danger to the West.

But the danger is far from over - environmental activists claim its nuclear arsenal represents an even greater ecological threat, especially to Russia's neighbour Norway.

SOUNDBITE:
"The main danger is storage of nuclear waste because it is in really physically bad condition. There are no containers to move them, no places where to store or bury them so nothing can be done. The second is the condition of submarines and the example of Komsomolets gives us a good picture of what can happen to submarines."
SUPER CAPTION: Ivan Blokov, Greenpeace Russia

The Komsomolets sank in April 1989 after catching fire, 210 miles north of the Norwegian coast.

Forty-two of the 60 Soviet sailors aboard the submarine were killed in the accident.

The submarine, its nuclear reactor and two nuclear-tipped torpedoes languished five-thousand feet underwater in the depths of the Norwegian Sea until last year.

Concerns about the threat of leaks from the vessel led Russian experts to seal holes in the Komsomolets which they claim have made the submarine safe for the next 30 years.

But Norwegian environmental groups like Bellona are becoming increasingly worried about threats to their country's ecology from their mighty neighbour.

SOUNDBITE:
"People in Norway, they are afraid. They are afraid for the 274 nuclear reactors in the Kola Peninsula and in Archangelsk. Its 100 reactors waste up in Spanalitse."
SUPER CAPTION: Frederik Hauge, Director Bellona

The ability to investigate possible environmental threats previously enjoyed by groups like Bellona is now under threat.

Forty-four year-old Alexander Nikitin was working for Bellona in St Petersburg when he was arrested by the Security Service on charges that include spying.

Nikitin, a former navy captain and nuclear facilities supervisor, had just completed a report for Bellona on a Russian naval nuclear dump site.

Bellona's offices in St Petersburg, Murmansk and Severodvinsk were also searched and staff members questioned by security agents.

Bellona claims its material came from open sources and that the arrest recalls the worst style of the dreaded KGB.

Nikitin's wife Tatyana says that claims that her husband knew state secrets came as a complete surprise.

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"He had a passport to make foreign trips, went abroad more than once and the F-S-K didn't have any problems with this. There was no talk about secrets, that he knew state secrets. That came only now."
SUPER CAPTION: Tatyana Chernova, wife

She remains totally convinced of Alexander's innocence.

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"I have no doubt of his innocence. I have known him for many years. He is an adult, smart, strong and self-assured man and I am sure of his innocence. I know it."
SUPER CAPTION: Tatyana Chernova, wife





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