5 August 1999
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Vsya Rossiya And Otechestvo Form Coalition
The political movements Vsya Rossiya (All Russia) and Otechestvo (Fatherland) signed an agreement in Moscow on 4 August on the creation of a united electoral bloc Otechestvo--Vsya Rossiya (Fatherland Is All Russia), Russian media reported. Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov and St. Petersburg Governor Vladimir Yakovlev were appointed co-chairmen of the bloc's Coordinating Council. Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev and Oleg Morozov, a Duma deputy from Tatarstan, were named members of the council. The bloc's electoral headquarters were reportedly decided upon but was not made public. The issue of who will be the movement's leader remains unresolved. Luzhkov said at the meeting that he considers ex-premier Yevgenii Primakov to be the most suitable leader of the coalition. Shaimiev also commented on Primakov's candidacy in an interview with Tatar Television on 4 August, saying that Primakov tops numerous opinion polls by a wide margin. He said that Primakov left the government but was not disgraced.
Primakov said in an interview with Interfax on 4 August that he finds the union of Vsya Rossiya and Otechestvo as a very positive development. He said that the association of the movements, could undoubtedly help the situation in Russia change for the better after December's State Duma elections. He said the union should not have an anti-presidential character. The formal decision on a unification of the two movements will be accepted at a Constituent Conference later this month.
Yeltsin And Shaimiev Discuss Electoral Strategies
Russian President Boris Yeltsin received Tatarstan's president and the leader of the Vsya Rossiya movement, Mintimer Shaimiev, on 4 August at Yeltsin's residence in Gorky-9. The two discussed the consolidation of Vsya Rossiya and Otechestvo. The presidential press secretary, Dmitrii Yakushkin, said that the prospects for a consolidation of centrist forces and the forming of a constructive parliamentary majority were discussed. Shaimiev told the press after the meeting that Yeltsin wasn't discouraged by the creation of the new bloc and that he wasn't surprised by it, either. In Shaimiev's words, Yeltsin would like the new coalition to become a sound centrist force which would be open to accepting other parties/blocs.
Tatarstan And Bashkortostan To Cooperate In Oil And Gas Industries
The premiers of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, Rustam Minnikhanov and Rafael Baidavletov, signed a protocol on the development of interregional integration in the oil and gas industrie in Ufa on 3 August, Tatar-inform reported. Working groups were also formed that will develop a concept for a future agreement on the integration in one month. The protocol finalizes a partnership between the Tatneft and Bashneft oil companies in developing new deposits in western Siberia and other regions outside of the two republics. It also states that joint efforts will be made to carry out a number of strategic investment projects. According to the document, the two sides will cooperate in supplying petrochemical enterprises with raw materials and will coordinate with each other regarding pricing policies.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova