News

05.18.2010

"0yster River HS renews high school exchange with Severodvinsk"

English Gymnasia #14 in Severodvinsk, the only one of its kind in the city, has only had one exchange with Oyster River HS and Portsmouth HS under State Dept. Grant '01-'03.

In March of '09 students  from this school made a special visit  to Oyster River HS  lead by our friends Katya Boikova and Lyudmila Ermolina. The visit was a final goodwill gesture by out-going Mayor Alexander Beliaev who secured funding for the trip.  But we thought that was the end of it since ORHS was about to start a new exchange with a school in Novgorod and Portsmouth HS expressed disinterest.

That  new ORHS exchange collapsed last Friday and ORHS has enthusiastically decided to renew its exchange with Severodvinsk!  If all goes well, it will begin with a visit this November  and be reciprocated the following April by ORHS going to Severodvinsk. It is hoped that they will adopt the environmental theme of the PSC.

We all know that this new exchange adds great dimension to the PSC with even more regular contact and especially hope for the future with young people involved on an ongoing basis.

 

05.16.2010

Newsletter - Spring 2010

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05.12.2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April, 30, 2010
Contact: Alex Herlihy
(603) 997 6742
alexherlihy@comcast.net

Gulag to Tribal ‘Stans
Two Local Authors to Discuss New Books

PORTSMOUTH, NH – Two Seacoast authors will discuss neglected aspects of 20^th century Russian history – the impact of Stalin’s Gulag and the influence of tribalism – at a forum Monday May 24, 6:30 PM in the Levenson Room of the Portsmouth Library.

The program is organized by the Portsmouth/Severodvinsk Connection (PSC) and co-sponsored by River Run Bookstore and the Portsmouth Library.  The PSC has organized citizen exchanges with Russians for 16 years and recently become a part of Sister Cities International. The forum will include a short power point presentation on PSC history and the organization’s renewed focus on environmental issues.

In “Violence, Veils and Bloodlines: Reporting from War Zones,” veteran foreign correspondent Louis J. Salome of Portsmouth looks at how perceptions of self, family and tribe affect world conflicts, including the former Soviet Union states of Central Asia. The book, published this spring by McFarland, is “a delightful and insightful guide (by) one of the best of a dwindling breed of adventurous foreign correspondents,” according to Doug Struck, a formerly  Washington Post and Baltimore Sun correspondent.  The book is enriched by Salome’s understanding of tribalism under his own roof.

"Children of the Gulag,” by UNH history professor Cathy Frierson, steps back farther in history to examine the impact of 75 years of severe Soviet repression of generations of children..  Millions of Soviet citizens were labeled “enemies of the state” and imprisoned or executed during those years. Their children usually became state wards.

Published this year by Yale University Press, the book was co-authored by Semyon Vilensky, a Gulag survivor and member of Russia’s Presidential Commission for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression.  It includes interviews with many survivors as well as former top-secret documents.

The Portsmouth/Severodvinsk Connection, united by the large submarine shipyards in both cites, was established in 1994 at the urging of Greenpeace, with the hope that citizen to citizen contact could help resolve some of the post-Cold War issues. More than 180 Severodvinsk and Seacoast residents, including students, teachers, government officials, journalists, environmentalists and others have participated in exchanges. The PSC will send a NH environmental delegation to Severodvinsk in September which will serve as a catalyst to unite other “Greens“ in both regions.

 

09.06.2009

PSC to host it's second Open World delegation

The PSC will host its second Open World delegation funded by the Library of Congress from Oct 10-18.  Five Russian environmentalists and one facilitator from the Severodvinsk and Archangelsk region will visit the Portsmouth and surrounding areas to learn about recycling, waste disposal, nuclear waste issues and many other environmental efforts in this region. If interested in meeting and talking to them, contact the PSC by writing - alexherlihy@comcast.net

 

06.28.2008

Portsmouth delegation to visit 70th anniversary of Severodvinsk, Russia

Plans are almost complete for the visit of our delegation of five members to Severodvinsk in July to help celebrate the city's 70th anniversary. The group will leave July 21st arriving in Severodvinsk on the 23rd (the official celebration takes place July 25-27)

They leave Severodvinsk on the July, 30th by train for St. Petersburg where they will stay until they return home on Aug. 4th. After that point we will organize a party to hear about their visit and see their pictures.

The delegation consists of:

Lou Salome - Veteran newspaper reporter, who covered the Soviet Union.

Betsy Kimball - Russian speaker and traveler and educator.

Roland Goodbody - UNH special collections archivist, actor and host of WUNH's Ceili show.

Nicloe Kimball - Who visited Severodvinsk twice in 2001 and 2003 under the student exchange.

Paul Josephson - Who you all know and who helped the group with  the travel plans.

 

06.28.2008

Pending visit from students & teachers of Severodvinsk, Russia

Looking to the future, we can expect a visit sponsored by the Severodvinsk city goverment and some business people of a group of 8 students and 2 teachers next spring for ten days; they will be staying with hosts from Oyster River HS in Durham, Lee and Madbury, but will be  spending a lot of time in Portsmouth.

06.28.2008

PSC applies for second "Open Word" grant!

As for Open World program, we will be applying for a grant again to host a delegation next year, possibly environmentalists.