Pubdate: 11 Jan 1999 Source: Reuters Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited. Author: Pavel Polityuk EX-SOVIET NUCLEAR BASE HOME TO DRUG ADDICTS KHMELNITSKY, Ukraine, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Drug addicts tending pigs and chickens at a top secret Soviet nuclear missile base - - the very idea would have had Cold War generals packing their bags for Siberia. Yet that pastoral scene has become a reality at the former base of the Red Army's Fifth Strategic Missile Regiment, hidden away among the hills and barren fields of western Ukraine. Soviet troops pulled out from Khmelnitsky after the Union collapsed in 1991. Now only a crumbling concrete obelisk screaming "Glory to the Soviet Strategic Missile Forces!" stands as a reminder that here nuclear apocalypse was once just the touch of a button away. A nearby silo housing one of 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles originally stationed in Ukraine was blown up early last year in line with the U.S.-Soviet START arms reduction treaty. Ukraine has handed over all its rockets to Russia. But despite the Soviet military retreat, well-worn khaki uniforms are still much in evidence at Khmelnitsky. They are regulation issue for the 15 or so hardened drug addicts undergoing a rehabilitation course at the base. And like the soldiers who once paced their lives to the shrill sirens of nuclear alerts, they perform their daily chores at a rhythm set by a gong hammered by the three men in charge, the "masters", who are themselves reformed addicts. DISCIPLINE SEEN AS WAY TO NEW LIFE "Our method is a combination of work therapy and psychological correction," said Anatoly Fedoruk, 35, one of the masters who spent 18 years of his "former" life on drugs. He believes that the rigorous order established on the former base and daily labour can heal the addicts. "The effect of labour is such that a person changes and starts thinking in a new way," he said. "Our patients just have no time to think about narcotics." In line with a programme designed by the Khmelnitsky regional authorities in January last year in an attempt to save the lives of at least some of the thousands of locally registered drug addicts, a group of enthusiasts was allowed to open the rehabilitation centre. They called it "Viktoria". Strict discipline reigns. All patients must sign a pledge to abstain from drugs, alcohol and sex, to be honest and not to leave the territory of the base. As in the army, orders are orders, insubordination is never discussed and the lonely base, 20 km (12 miles) from the nearest village, seems an ideal location for the camp. Every morning, each patient is given work orders for the day. Daily chores range from tending pigs and chickens at a former military storehouse to repairing barracks left in a mess after the last Soviet soldiers retreated a few years ago. Despite hard work, tough discipline and sordid living conditions, the inmates seem satisfied with their life. "Only by going through a centre like this can you become human again," said 30-year-old Natasha, who once ran a bookshop. Viktoria is her third attempt at quitting drugs. "We are taught everything here. This is the place to get rid of our dependence." MORE REHABILITATION CENTRES PLANNED Larisa Vysotska, director of the centre, said around 1,500 drug addicts are officially registered in the Khmelnitsky region, while the number of those not reflected in official statistics may be 10 times higher. There are no official statistics for Ukraine as a whole, where the 50 million population includes a growing army of desperate young people seeking refuge from hardship in drugs. Vysotska said centres similar to Viktoria would be opened in several other western regions, as well as in the capital Kiev, in Odessa on the Black Sea and in Donetsk region in the east. But she said the planned new centres were unlikely to be able to cope with the growing ranks of drug addicts. "We understand we cannot help everyone. But if we only save a few lives, our efforts won't be wasted," she said. Vysotska said she had managed to save her own son, who used to take drugs, through a similar centre in neighbouring Poland. Fedoruk said that turning former addicts into educators was a key to success. "A lot of people think a junkie can't quit. But we prove here that this is possible, that drug addicts can be the same as every other human being," he said. Natasha, who also carries the HIV virus which leads to AIDS as a result of sharing an infected needle, has been at the centre for 10 months and her term will be end in two. She would like to help the others to escape addiction when her own treatment is over. "Drug addiction is a horrible disease, incurable for many, but I want to help people to break free of that nightmare," she said. "I would like to become an educator, a master. I was given help, and now I would like to help the others." - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski