(Source: Daily News Bulletin; Moscow - English)
KALININGRAD. Dec 14 (Interfax) - Most ethnic Germans from the former USSR, who now live in Germany and wish to go back to Russia under the voluntary resettlement program, are choosing the Kaliningrad region, according to the Kaliningrad regional government deputy minister for area development and liaisons with local authorities, Alexander Mezentsev said after returning from Germany, the regional government's press office said.
He was attending a roundtable in Frankfurt-am-Main focused on the governmental program to assist fellow countrymen abroad to voluntarily resettle to Russia.
According to Atlant, a public organization set up by Russian- speaking Germans in the federal land of North Rhine-Westphalia, around 4,000 people in this region said they wanted to return to Russia, and 90% of them chose the Kaliningrad region as permanent residence.
"However, the program of resettling from Germany to Russia saw only four people arrive, another 14 applications are currently being processed," the press office said.
One of the reasons why this is happening is because there is only one body in this German federal land, which is authorized to act under the program - the Russian Consulate General in Bonn. Another reason is insufficient information and counseling which does not allow potential resettlers to Russia to promptly receive answers to their questions about the program and participation terms and conditions.
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