19 April 2001
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Mukhametshin Wants Regions to Keep More Tax Receipts
Speaker Farid Mukhametshin said that donor-regions should transfer the taxes they collect directly to regions, which need them rather than send the money via Moscow, strana.ru reported on 17 April. In other comments, he said that the regions should be allowed to keep more of what they collect and that budgetary relations should be decentralized.
Duma to Discuss Measures to Protect Republic Symbols�
The Duma legislation committee has proposed amendments to the Russian Criminal Code to introduce responsibility for outrages against state symbols of federation subjects, �Vechernyaya Kazan� reported on 18 April. That measure was proposed by the Tatarstan State Council.
�And to Study Whether to Rename Tatarstan Volga Bulgaria
The Duma nationalities committee also called for an expert study on a request by the Kazan National Bulgar Congress to rename Tatarstan Volga Bulgaria, Tatar-inform reported on 18 April.
Khakimov Comments on Duma Factions Merger
Rafail Khakimov, an advisor to the Tatarstan president, on 18 April told RFE/RL's Kazan bureau that he supports the recent merger but believes there should be two groups, left and right, rather than a single centrist one. He said that regional branches of these movements are weak or sufficiently different that any merger will be superficial or impossible.
Chally Authorities, Trade Unions Agree On Cooperation
The Chally city administration has signed the agreement with the Trade Unions Federation, RFE/RL�s Chally correspondent reported on 18 April. Trade union leader Gumar Nuretdinov commented on the document saying, �though it does not completely response to the up-to-date requirements, we agreed on it.� Chally mayor Rashid Khamadeev criticized trade union leaders for their efforts to sue authorities and administrations and their ignorance of the latter�s violations.
Tatarstan�s Racers Lead World Cup Rally
The KamAZ racers team has won the third tour of the World Cup rally in Tunis, �Vremya novostei� reported on 18 April.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova
DAILY REVIEW FROM BASHKORTOSTAN
Bashkirs to Receive New Passports by June
Strana.ru reported on 18 April that new Russian passports will be issued in Bashkortostan as of June 2001. Republic passport and visa service chief Farit Abdrakhmanov told the agency that "the government has approved the samples of passports with special inlay pages in Bashkir printed by Gozznak factory in Perm." Some 500,000 copies of the new documents are to be distributed by the end of this year.
Bashkir Legislators Oppose Federal State Service Act
The Bashkir State Assembly appealed to Russian State Duma on 18 April proposing amendments to the draft federal bill on state service, aromi.ru reported. Assembly chairman Konstantin Tolkachev explained that the Russian Constitution dos not specify whether the state service is under federal or regional jurisdiction. "Consequently," he said, "the federal legislators have exceeded their powers by obliging the state employees of federation entities to fulfill the provisions of the bill."
Ufa Transfers More Taxes to Federal Budget
Rashit Sattarov, who represents the Russian tax ministry in Bashkortostan, said on 18 April that some 10 million rubles ($344,000) had been collected in Bashkortostan and that more than half of that amount had been transferred to the federal budget, twice the figure of a year ago.
Tatar Public Organization Suit Postponed
The Ufa Kirov district court postponed a hearing on a suit brought by the Tatar Ethnic-Cultural Autonomy against the Bashkortostan�s Justice Ministry on 18 April, RFE\RL's Ufa correspondent reported. The Tatar group is seeking to register with the government, something the justice ministry has refused to do for two years.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi