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| ID: 11492 - guest (Read) | © UNESCO 1995-2009 - Terms of Use - Contact - Updated: 2007-12-05 4:14 pm |  |
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The Arkangelsk Region of Russia is surrounded by Arctic seas and is covered in snow for up to 250 days a year, temperatures of -40C are common. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a dramatic drop in living conditions in this region which hit the poor and indigenous populations particularly hard. The result has been a vast increase in unemployment, violence, alcoholism and children out of parental care. For children from rural and decaying industrial communities to receive any education they have to travel to faraway boarding schools which further weakens ties to families, communities and native indigenous languages. Only 10-12% of children are considered ‘healthy’ by the time they are in school. 50% of children are severely lacking in vitamins and anaemic. Tuberculosis and hypothermia are major problems.
