Poet's Page
music and opinion from Wales' wandering poet.
The Miners' Next Step and Donbass news
The Miners' NextStep
In 1912 - this year that will be 110 years ago - some of the best minds in Wales met and produced a pamphlet:- 'The Miners' Next Step' to guide miners to a better world, so working people can build a future without parasites or back-stabbers, or bosses, or short-sighted greed.
Just like the people of Donbass, who, before Russia's revolution, lived in the Free Lands and worked to build their world... with love.
Their vision became - unfairly, in my opinion - labelled as anarcho-syndicalism..... so was discounted as a way forward by socialists in Wales and the U.K.
Yet their analysis is as relevant today, as ever, on questions like true democracy and leadership.
Their pamphlet can be accessed online, and I would urge you to read it! If you want to create a fab future for your loved ones..
P.S. hope you like the song!
The people of Donbass (pictured) are united and organised..
The Donbass and Wales and The Miners' Next Step
The people of Donbass run their own army, police and civil
affairs, and run a successful economy, based on soviet style factory and mine local democracy --- so they decide how their buildings and parks, facilities and arts and crafts, fulfill their needs and values.
Because the Kiev government - brought into being by US money and the Maiden violent insurrection and coup - helped to power, extreme nationalist forces.. the rest of Ukraine is trapped and being stripped of its material wealth.
Local oligarchs, bowing to a West desperate to keep its old role, as ''the chosen ones'' - plus a group of psychotic 'US 'neo-cons'', who genuinely welcome a ''decider'' world war, now run things in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians are leaving the country... as prices rise and their economy is stripped, and the war on the Donbass, backed by US-led NATO, is an open sore.
All in the middle of a pandemic and the Earth being poisoned against humanity... well!
And the miners of Wales who met in 1912, planned.. then explained... how to work and achieve a better life, by realising the dreams of the vast majority.
Their solution was to use the power of organisation, to create wealth.
They, at that time, planned to havethe local lodges use their organisational
skills.. to set up many businesses...
but any organisation can, right now, call on a number of volunteers to gladly work an hour a month... and many will be happy to do more. From each, according to their ability and to each, according to their need.
That's the spirit.
It's simple... and the only way to achieve a beautiful world, is bit by bit, until it's done.
If three people or a few hundred give one hour a month... then an affordable child nursery for working parents, or a centre to entertain the children after school, are all possible.
The reward?
No-one has to fight against anyone, or rob or borrow money, as people will volunteer, either their time, gifts, or money, to a cause which benefits all in your community.
Love will grow even stronger in your community.
The better place everyone wants, will grow slowly, in peace, like a baby grows in the womb.
That's the miners' Next Step 2.
* * * * * * * * *
This does not mean, by the way, that public ownership is a bad thing, but that creative thinking is necessary.
We have seen how nationalised industries lack democratic accountability, and can be used badly, by both Labour & Tory governments --- as milk cows by the private sector, or to massage the unemployment figures.
And time and time again, after the public has paid for investments, to make them profitable... they are ''re-privatised''.
There are alternatives to the old failed model of public ownership, as seen in this country. Worker co-ops, Foundations, even charity status... could be tried.
There's nothing especially socialist, about nationalisation - Tories, even fascists use it, when private ownership has failed..
It's successful public ownership and control... that brings real lasting benefits, that's what we want!
The 'National Coal Board' closed more collieries down, than even Thatcher!
Many many thanks to Richard Gould, a true genius, who has his own group, yet gave up his time to generate the music.
Also to Ceri of Big Pit, who might not necessarily have agreed with the politics, but was so generous with his time and photos.
And to the Clydach Vale lake and cafe, which is the best nearby example of what is possible!
And last, but definitely not least, a massive thank you to Becs... who has the smile to warm the world - and the guts and generosity - to appear on video.
DPR steelworks operate
at 50% of capacity level
January 21st, 5:13pm (DAN)
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DPR smelters production amounted to 41 bln roubles
in 10 months of 2021, the Ministry of Industry and
Trade said.
"The production rate grew by 19% in the ten months
of 2021 and amounted to 41.3 bln roubles in the 10
months of 2021. The capacity utilization grew
during 2020 and the 10 months of 2021 by
12.4% to attain 49%," the report reads.
The total of 54 steel enterprises
are operating in the DPR.
"Steelworks contribution to the industrial goods
exports is more than 82%. The importers are
the LPR and Russia. The export share of
smelters increased by 9.3% last year."
[Rhondda Records adds: dare we ask, what about Wales?]
___________________________________
More than 60,000 people
take part in Baptism Day
celebrations in DPR
January 20th, 6:55am (DAN)
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More than 60,000 people visited Orthodox
churches on Baptism day, the Interior
Ministry said on Wednesday.
"Ceremonies took place in 131 cathedrals
in 55 townships across the DPR,
gathering 60,000 people."
Order was ensured by 330 policemen, an
additional 150 officers were on duty at
bathing locations. No public order
violations have been recorded.
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
- or Theophany - is the feast day
commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River
by John the Baptist.
Orthodox Christians take the traditional
plunge into freezing waters today, for the annual celebrations.
______________________________
DPR Officethanks OSCE
for monitoring Stirol
situation
January 18th, 2:24pm (DAN)
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The Donetsk People’s Republic Office at the
Joint Centre for Control and Coordination
has expressed gratitude to the OSCE
Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, for
working in the Strirol plant area
in recent days.
Earlier, the SMM said that “on January 16th and 17th
it followed up on the reports of a possible ammonia
leak at the plant in Gorlovka.”
“The SMM observed a calm situation there and
will continue to follow up on the information,”
it said.
“We’re thankful to the Mission for its immediate
monitoring of the situation,” the DPR Office
said, reminding that on January the 15th,
Ukraine disseminated information:
“...alleging a leak of poisonous
chemicals in the plant area.”
The Ukrainian yellow mass media copied the
report, without presenting any facts or
evidence of the accident.
“We urge Ukraine, to stop speculations on the
chemical topic”, in order not to mislead the
international community, and not to
threaten the local population,” the
DPR Office at the JCCC said.
__________________________
DPR allocates 15 bln RUBof support to families with
childrensince 2015
January 14th, 11:53am (DAN)
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The DPR has allocated more than 4 bln roubles
to families with children in 2021, the Ministry
of Labour and Social Policy said.
"The average monthly number of recipients was
82.2 thousand people; the total expenditure
was 4.2 bln roubles," the statement reads.
Eight of 14 social benefits are covering families with
children. Among those, are pregnancy benefits and a baby bonus, children-under-three allowances,
assistance for single parents, benefits for
large families, etc.
The payments are being made since 2015, the
total amount of payments, is 15 bln roubles.
____________________________________
DPR budget flush with
cash from businesses
January 13th, 7:08pm (DAN)
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Donetsk People’s Republic's budget revenue from
businesses increased by 21.8 percent in 2021
year-on-year, the DPR Tax and Revenues
Ministry said in a preliminary report
received by the Donetsk
News Agency.
The Ministry expects to meet the overall revenue
target at 104.7 percent. The following is the
contribution by major revenue sources
(% of target): income tax - 104.1, profit
tax - 105.5 %, turnover tax - 103.5 %,
excise tax on manufactured excised
products - 105.1% including petrol-
eum products (102.4 percent),
simplified tax - 101.5 percent
and land tax - 102.6 percent.
A larger number of taxpayers contributed
to the budget revenue increase.
Insurance payments from businesses in 2021 are
expected to meet the target at 129.7 percent, a
31 percent increase year-on-year, the
Ministry said.
In 2022, the Tax and Revenues Ministry will
work towards creating a friendly business
environment, full budget revenue
collection, protecting domestic
producers and bolstering
economic activity... by
improving the quality
and effectiveness of
tax administration.
__________________
Tearing down blockade:
New economic reality
arises for Donbass
January 12th, 1:39pm (DAN)
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DPR and LPR-made products, are actively entering
the Russian market, as many Donbass enterprises
are shifting their focus onto exports, the DPR
Ministry of Industry and Trade told Donetsk
News Agency on Wednesday.
"The decree of Russian President, Vladimir Putin,
creates a new economic reality for our industrial enterprises, as it officially opens up the market opportunities necessary for our industries.
This political decision tears down the
economic blockade imposed by
Ukraine," the statement reads.
It says that DPR industry is currently shifting its focus
to exports: in the last 10 months of 2021 exports
grew by 10% --- with shipments to Russia
contributing 80.1 % to the total exports.
The Yenakiyevo meat processing plant has shipped
the first 1,500 kilograms of sausage products to
Russia’s Rostov region, the Donetsk People’s
Republic Agro-industrial Policy and Food
Ministry reported, on Tuesday.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, signed a decree on
November 15th to ease the access of Donbass-made products to Russian markets.
The decree orders to develop the legislation to
recognise DPR and LPR certificates of origin
and make Donbass-made products eligible,
on equal terms with Russian goods, for
state and municipal procurement, and purchases by certain types of legal entities.
_______________________________
DPR pays 1 billion RUB compensation
to victims of Ukrainian aggression
January 10th, 10:29am (DAN)
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Lump sum compensations paid to DPR residents
for damage to health and wellbeing caused by
Ukrainian armed aggression have totalled
1 billion roubles, the Ministry of Labour
and Social Policy told DAN.
"The total sum of one-time payments made to DPR
residents who suffered damages, following the
Ukrainian aggression has totalled 985.7 million
roubles since 2014, there were 14 partial
tranches," the statement reads.
Last year, the total of 301.2 million roubles
in compensations were paid.
The payments are made under the 2014 Law on
Urgent Social Measures to Protect DPR
Residents in the Circumstances of
Ukrainian Army and Armed
Formations Aggression.
Families of killed or deceased, including service
members or law enforcement members, as a
result of the aggression; civilians qualified
as persons with disability as a result of an
injury or trauma incurred as a result of the
aggression; injured or disabled without
obtaining a disabled person status are
entitled to compensations of 50,000 -
800,000 hryvnia, paid in roubles.
_______________________________
DPR to increase welfare benefits
for 27 groups of recipients from
January 1st, 2022 - official
December 30th, 1:20pm (DAN)
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Welfare benefits in the Donetsk People’s Republic will
increase for 27 groups of recipients starting January
1st, 2022, DPR Labour and Social Policy Minister,
Larisa Tolstykina, said at a press briefing at the Donetsk News Agency on Thursday.
''DPR Head Denis Pushilin’s Decree No 414 dated
December 28th, 2021, increased 11 of the 14 types of benefits for 27 groups of recipients from January 1st, 2022,” Tolstykina said. “The increase ranges between 5 and 140 percent.”
Special attention is paid to families with children,
individuals with disabilities and persons in
difficult circumstances, she added.
Maternity allowances will increase to 8,000 rubles.
Childbirth allowances paid in the first three years
will amount to 7,000. Survivor's benefits will
increase to 7,885 rubles and the allowance
with the nursing supplement for disabled
children and lifelong disabled persons,
will reach 7,500 to 16,000 rubles
depending on the category.
“The DPR is launching new payments in 2022, similar
to the children’s benefits in Russia’s Rostov region.
They are a lump sum payment of 17,450 rubles
when a baby is handed over to a family, a
30,000-ruble lump sum payment to a new
adoptive family, and supplementary
payments to foster parents per
child with disabilities in the
amount of 4,500 rubles,”
the minister said.
Payments to low-income families will increase to 4,000
rubles while supplement payments per child, will
increase to 1,500 rubles. Persons who are not
entitled to an old age pension, and disabled
persons will get 7,300 to 8,000 rubles.
The compensation for taking care of 1st
disability group persons and elderly
persons over 80 years of age, will
increase from 500 rubles to
1,200 rubles.
Every month, the DPR pays welfare
benefits to some 125,000 residents.
Benefits last increased on July 1st, 2021
in accordance with DPR Head Denis
Pushilin’s decree.. which allocated
more than 500 million rubles from
the Republic’s budget, for
the purpose.
_____________________________
Arthouse producers building
first film studio in DPR
Donetsk, December 24th, 6:14am (DAN)
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They shot the feature film “Intent” in the Donetsk
People’s Republic... and ran it in many towns in
Russia and the Czech Republic, and now they
are building their own studio at a fantastic
rate. The Donfilm group’s ambition is to
achieve what others have never been
able to accomplish, namely... turn
Donbass into a film-making centre.
The arthouse film “Intent” was screened in 2019 and
has been available on YouTube since 2020. The
views count reached 2.5 million. “Intent” rather
looks like a post-modernist fairy-tale puzzle.
It is a story of a boy’s journey... to a higher
plane of existence where he watches the
struggle of notions that govern our
routine life on Earth.
Donfilm founder, Dmitry Zodchiy, who authored and directed “Intent” defines its genre as “trickster film.“
”INTENT” (2019)
Enthusiasts shot the film without the assistance of government bodies or commercial companies
but by using Zodchiy’s money. Viewers helped
launch the construction of the first film
studio in the DPR after a money raising action, on the Donfilm website.
The construction site, is located in the outskirts of
the town of Shakhtyorsk in the eastern part of the
Republic. The work on the main building and
adjacent pavilions, is nearing completion.
Donfilm participants hope... that a village with its own
infrastructure will spring up in the area in the future.
It will include a park, a children’s playground, a
cinema house, a concert stage , a store and
houses for the staff and studio guests. It will also accommodate shops to
produce costumes, stage sets and props.
The immediate plans, are to create prerequisites for shooting a second film. According to Dmitry
Zodchiy, it might begin as early as the first
half of 2022.
Find more information on the Donfilm studio and
the Donbass film production timeline, in the
Russian language version of the Donetsk
News Agency.
____________________________________
DPR, LPR announce website
to gather data on Ukraine’s
war crimes
November 25th, 3:12pm (DAN)
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The Donbass Republics have launched a website that will gather information on Ukraine’s war crimes and missing persons. It was presented at Thursday's online conference: “The Seared Memory of Donbass: Ukrainian army’s war crimes... and new information on the massacres of civilians.”
“The website is expected to consolidate our efforts,
provide authentic information on the number of
casualties during the conflict, show progress
in our work and tell what made mass graves
come about. A large number of people are
missing. The website will post the stories
of the people who experienced Ukrainian
aggression & lost their kin, since 2014,”
LPR Public Chamber member, Sergey
Belov, said.
The website address is donbasstragedy.info.
It contains a photo gallery and a feedback window.
Any resident of the region can contribute their
stories.. share their information about a mass
grave or send photos. It is planned to launch
website versions in several languages...
including French and German.
This last summer, the DPR and the LPR stepped up
the search for missing persons. They established
specialized bodies which included officials, law -enforcers and experts. These bodies were
tasked with organizing the search for the
missing persons, composing a register
of the missing, gathering information
on them, creating a database of the
missing and deceased and their
relatives, and coordinating
exhumation efforts, the
identification of bodies
and... handing them
over to relatives.
In the DPR, the first exhumation was carried out in
Snezhnoye’s Ovsyanoe cemetery on August 19th.
As of now, the remains of 150 unidentified Donbass
conflict victims have been exhumed in the DPR,
since 2014.
________________________________________
DPR development Programme
provides for 70% GDP increase
Donetsk, November 24th, 1:33pm (DAN)
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The DPR Social and Economic Development
Programme previews a 70 pc GDP increase
by 2025, and a similar increase in exports,
the Minister of Economic Development
of the Republic, Alexey Polovyan,
told DAN.
“The expected result of the implementation of the
Programme for 2022-2024, is: the growth of GDP
by more than 70% (compared to 2020); a more
than 70% growth of the GDP per capita. Also,
by 2025, we are aiming at an increase in
exports by 70%, and an increase in the
foreign trade balance by almost 30%,”
the minister said.
He added that one of the key targets of the Programme
is to at least double wages in the industry and the coal
sector. Earlier, it was reported that the average
monthly salary is expected to be increased
by 2.3 times.
The Socio-Economic Development Programme for 2022-2024.... was adopted in September. It includes: raising wages and pensions, creating tens of thousands of jobs, measures to support businesses, and infrastructure development.
_____________________________________
DPR coal and energy sector
to receive 5 bln roubles
of investment
Donetsk, November 12th, 4:37pm (DAN)
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The investments into DPR coal and energy sectors
will amount to five billion roubles (USD 70 mln), the Deputy Minister of Coal and Energy, Alexey Vasilenko, said, at the round table organized by the Donetsk
Republic social movement.
"The investment programmes provide for 1 bln roubles
subsidies in 2022-2024 for coal enterprises and 1 bln
roubles subsidies for overhaul projects of energy
companies in 2023-2024," he said.
Investment programmes cover the reconstruction of the
energy unit No.10 of the Starobeshevo coal power plant,
repair works at the cooling tower No.2 of the Zuevo coal
power plant, to provide for a more flexible management
of the station's resources, and to put all three power
units into operation.
Earlier reports said that the Republic plans to
produce 21.2 mln tons of coal, in three years.
_______________________________________
DPR Post issues postal card
on the October Socialist
Revolution anniversary
November 1st, 4:28pm (DAN)
DPR State Post issued post cards with an
original stamp, for the Day of the Great
October Socialist Revolution.
"The "Soviet Holidays" series... is supplemented
with a postal card commemorating one of the
greatest holidays of the Soviet state. Postal
cards with the "Great October Socialist
Revolution" stamps... were issued on
November 3rd, 2021," the Post said.
Cards are available at the Post shop, at 72 Artyoma Street, Donetsk.
The October Revolution was a revolution in Russia
led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin.
November 7th, 2021 marked the 104th
anniversary... of the uprising in
Petrograd (St Petersburg).
The following day, the Winter Palace (the seat of the
Provisional government located in Petrograd, then
capital of Russia) was captured. This coup, is
considered to have started the creation of the state known as... the Soviet Union.
___________________________
Donbass Post issues its first
stamp featuringmetal & coal
Donetsk, October 25th, 11:03am (DAN)
DPR State Post has issued a metal stamp,
for the first time ever, featuring samples
of coal: to commemorate the 300th
anniversary of the discovery of
coal deposits in Donbass.
"We are extremely proud to present our new
"stamp in metal" - an installation combining
the real rock and metal," the press statement issued by the Post, says.
The stamp is made of brass, it is
30 mm in diameter, its weight,
is 17 grams.
The installation is decorated with
a guiding star, and mining tools.
The first-day-envelope, with a black-and-
gold lining is also available for purchase.
The price of the commemorative sign is
900 rubles, the envelope in a frame
costs 1,000 rubles, at the store at 72, Artyoma street.
__________________________
DPR Post issues stamps featuring
Welsh engineer John Hughes,
founder of Donetsk
April 2nd, 2021 at 2:28pm
(DAN news agency)
The DPR's State Post has issued a postal stamp featuring
John James Hughes, a Welsh engineer, businessman and
founder of the city of Donetsk.
The stamp is decorated with Donetsk coat-of-arms and
Hughes portrait. The stamp can be used for registered
letters with receipt up to 20 gr, in accordance with the
current fee rate of 44 rubles.
The number of copies issued is 30,024.
The envelope for the new stamp features pictograms
representing industrial objects and clippings of
Donbass geological map.
Hughes moved to the Russian Empire, in the summer of 1870,
at the age of 55, as Millwall Iron Works Company received an
order, from the Imperial Russian Government, for the plating
of a naval fortress being built at Kronstadt on the Baltic Sea.
He immediately started to build metal works close to the
river Kalmius, at a site near the village of Alexandrovka.
Over the next twenty years, the works prospered and expanded, first under John Hughes and then, after his death, in 1889, under the management of four of his sons.
John Hughes died on June 17th, in 1889, during a business trip to St Petersburg.
According to some sources, Hughes taught himself to write, and could only read capital letters.
