A 5 December 1998 Interfax article states:

Ethnic Germans remain the only repressed ethnic group in Russia "which was not returned the political and social rights stripped from it" during the Stalin-era purges, head of the council of the Germans of Russia Ernst Volf said on Saturday at the opening of an extraordinary session of the council of Germans of the CIS in Bishkek. The conference is attended by representatives of ethnic Germans from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Volf said the main items on the agenda are the political and legal problems of ethnic Germans. He told Interfax that the special program for ethnic Germans approved by President Yeltsin in 1996 cannot resolve many problems because it lacks political and legal backing. He said all the resources received by Russia from Germany are used in the framework of the program. He feared that the new ruling coalition in Germany may change the status of the program from rehabilitation to simply humanitarian. He said about 1 million ethnic Germans live in the CIS today compared to 2.5 million before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Additional or corroborating information on the situation of ethnic Germans in Russia could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Interfax. 5 December 1998. "Leader of Ethnic Germans Dissatisfied with Position." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Correspondence sent to two oral sources

Unsuccessful attempts to contact other oral sources

IRB databases

Nationalities Papers

NEXIS/LEXIS

Internet sites including:

Centre for Russian Studies

Cultural Survival

European Centre for Minority Issues

Hokkaido University Slavic Research Centre

Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology & Politics

Minorities at Risk Project

Minority Rights Group

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Post Soviet Armies Newsletter

World News Connection