Ordinary Russian vs US Diplomat

VLADIVOSTOK. February 19. VOSTOK MEDIA – Alexander Kashin, a resident of Bolshoi Kamen city, Primorsky Krai has gone on hunger strike “in protest against arbitrary behaviour of the US authorities”.

In January of 1998 Alexander Kashin’s Toyota Camry was hit by Chevrolet of the US ex-Consul General in Vladivostok Douglas Kent. The accident made 22-year Kashin a totally disabled person and he’s been seeking compensation for the damage caused since that time.

Different US courts several times sustained the suits filed by Kashin against Kent. The longtime fight of an ordinary Russian and an American diplomat was ended by the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that ruled to close the case. That means that Kashin, the plaintiff, can not longer seek compensation.

“The only thing I can only count on is extrajudicial help, for example, the diplomatic assistance of Russian authorities”,- Kashin said.

In August of 2006 Alexander asked for help the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation William Burns who visited the Primorsky Krai.

“In November of 2007 I received a call from the Consulate General where they told me that the documents were submitted to the Department of State. But I haven’t yet seen the further reaction,”- Kashin says.

Alexander lives with his retired parents and continues to stand upon his rights. Maybe the sympathizing people will again picket the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, the Vladivostok newspaper reports.

Seven years ago James F. Shumaker, acting US Consul General in Vladivostok, told Vladimir Goryachev, representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Primorsky Krai, that Kent’s attorneys will offer a significant compensation that will satisfy Kashin. Mr. Shumaker also remarked that “delays in settling the accident lead to the public protest and undermine the image of the United States in the Primorsky Krai.”
Picture: August 2006. Vladivostok. US Ambassador William Burns and Alexander Kashin.