15 January 2001
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Transneft Names New Tatarstan Branch Head
President Mintimer Shaimiev and Transneft president Semen Vainshtok on 12 January agreed on the appointment of Farit Khaidarov, 34, as the new general manager of the North-Western main oil pipelines company, Tatar-inform reported. Khaidarov had been a chief engineer of Transneft's Kolymneftegaz. Shaimiev thanked Sergei Lebedich who had been heading the company's local branch for many years for his contributions to Tatarstan. And he told a press conference afterwards that there would not be any restrictions on the export of Tatarstan's oil produciton.
Tatarstan, German Oil Companies To Boost Cooperation
President Mintimer Shaimiev on 12 January met with Mineral Oil Roshtoff head Rudolf Krening and BASF deputy board chairman Max Klein to discuss cooperation between Tatarstan and German oil companies, Tatar-inform reported. Mineral Oil already is the Tatarstan's partner in the Tatoilgaz and Petrokam joint ventures. The two sides discussed the terms of extraction and delivery of gas condenser from Novy Urengoi deposits to Nizhnekamskneftekhim by BASF�s branch Vinterskhal, as well as increasing production of Petrokam.
A Gorbachev in Tatarstan's Future?
The Tatarstan branch of the Russian United Social-Democratic party (ROSDP) on 12 January asked former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to run for president of Tatarstan, Interfax reported. ROSDP Party leader in Tatarstan Airat Akhmetzhyanov said the decision was unanimous. But Moscow's ROSDP said Gorbachev was unlikely to agree. Meanwhile, appealed to the party chairman, ex-president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev Duma deputy Sergei Shashurin and Akhtam Kharisov, a pensioner residing in Moscow, on 12 January joined the Tatarstan presidential race, Tatar-inform reported. Shashurin, 44, is a businessman with criminal past and former Tatarstan�s deputy, while 60 year-old Kharisov is completely unknown in the republic.
By Gulnara Khasanova
DAILY REVIEW FROM BASHKORTOSTAN
Crime Rises as Militia Works to Contain It
The Bashkortostan Interior Ministry on 12 January said that it had managed to limit the rise in crime in a number of jurisdictions, Bashinform reported. Some categories of crimes fell in the republic during the last year, including public assaults, but many other types rose. The militia identified some 9,000 cases of corruption and arrested numerous drug dealers.
Bashkortostan Otechestvo Preparing To Become A Party
The Bashkortostan regional department of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's Otechestvo on 12 January decided to transform itself into a political party, Bashinform reported.
Vodka To Become More Expensive
The Bashkortostan government on 12 January said that a 5 percent increase in excise taxes on alcohol may push vodka prices higher, Bashinform reported. Last year, such taxes increased prices by 11 percent.
By Gulnara Khasanova