RUSSIAN MINERS RETURN TO WORK…

Almost all of Russia’s coal miners have returned to work following a two-day strike that idled 80 percent of Russia’s pits. (Interfax, February 3) Union leaders decided late Friday night to suspend their nationwide strike after the government gave in to their demands for back wages and agreed to increase this year’s state subsidy of the coal mining industry to 10.4 trillion rubles ($2.2 billion). The strike has been suspended only until March 1, however, giving the miners a strong lever over the government, which would be deeply embarrassed by a miners’ strike in the run-up to the presidential elections. Union leaders in Vorkuta in the Far North warned, "If the miners are cheated again, they will start a strike prompted by the hopelessness of their situation before the presidential elections." (1)

…But Ukrainian Miners Remain on Strike.