2 April 2001
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Putin Greets Shaimiev on Reelection
Russian President Vladimir Putin on 31 March sent greetings to President Mintimer Shaimiev on his reelection, Tatarstan television reported. Others sending greetings included Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, Federation Council chairman Yegor Stroyev, Duma chairman Gennady Seleznev, former President Boris Yeltsin, presidential administration head Aleksandr Voloshin, Security Council secretary Vladimir Rushailo, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Kyrgyzstan ambassador to Benelux Chingiz Aitmatov, Counting Chamber chairman Sergei Stepashin, LukOIL president Vagit Alekperov, Navy chief commander Vladimir Kuroyedov, and Iran's ambassador in Moscow, Mekhdi Safari.
Collins Opens American Sector In National Library
Speaker Farid Mukhametshin on 30 March received American ambassador to Russia James Collins to discuss development of federalism in Russia, the State Council press center reported. Collins then participated in the opening of the American sector at the Tatarstan National Library. Collins also met with Kazan Mayor Kamil Iskhakov. And he said that Tatarstan is well-known in the United States and that Washington seeks to develop ties in all areas.
Cabinet Extends Credits to Farmers
First Deputy Agriculture Minister Saidash Israfilov said that government banks have extended 600 million rubles ($20.8 million) in credits to help with planting, Prime-Tass reported. The farmers will repay their loans with a combination of cash and goods, Israfilov said. Of loans extended last year, only 76 percent have been repaid, largely because of the drought, he added.
Tatneft to Open More Filling Stations
Tatneft general manager Shafagat Takhautdinov on 30 March said that his company will increase the number of filling stations it operates by the end of the year to 312 up from 190 now. Among these, there will be 124 in Moscow city and region, 23 in Udmurtia, 20 in Ulyanovsk oblast, and 16 in Nizhny Novgorod oblast, Tatar-inform reported.
Rocket Troops General Dies After Accident
Maj.Gen. Vladimir Grigoryev, 50, the head of the Russian strategic rocket troops nuclear safety service, has died from injuries suffered in an automobile accident near Yeshel Uzen on 15 February, "Vremya I dengi" reported on 30 March.
Bairamova Denies Rumors About Her Political Emigration
Ittifaq party leader Fauziya Bairamova on 29 March denied reports that she is seeking political asylum in the United States, RFE/RL's Kazan bureau reported. Rumors to that effect had appeared in the local "Novaya vecherka." But Bairamova sharply criticized the Tatarstan government for depriving Ittifaq of a play to work and closing its "Altyn Urda" newspaper.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova
DAILY REVIEW FROM BASHKORTOSTAN
Ufa To Step Up Fight Against Crime
President Murtaza Rakhimov on 30 March issued a decree calling for increased state efforts against all forms of crime over the next three years, the presidential press service reported.
Government Representatives to Be Get Incentive Pay
First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Sigakov on 30 March said that governmental representatives attached to companies will be rewarded according to the profitability of their enterprises, Bashinform reported. Such an arrangement, he said, will encourage the representatives to push for profitability.
Bashkirenergo to Cut Heat to Debtors
Bashkirenergo on 30 March warned the municipal heating networks of Ufa and seven other republic cities that it will cut heating supplies to them as of 1 April until they pay current and previous bills, Bashinform reported. Some of the companies may be forced into bankruptcy as a result.
Ufa Extends Credits to Farmers
The cabinet plans to extend 850 million rubles ($29.5 million) of credit to farmers to buy food for the operation of equipment, Bashinform reported on 30 March. The loans are to be repaid after the harvest in the form of the farms giving the government 785,000 tons of grain.
Two Republic Higher Schools Among Russia's Best
Two Bashkortostan higher schools, the Bashkir State University and the Ufa Technological Institute of Service, are now considered to be among the top 100 such educational institutions in Russia, Bashinform reported on 30 March.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova