9 May 2001
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Victory Day Celebrated.
Some 10,000 people, including veterans, took part in Victory Celebrations in Kazan on 9 May. Kazan Mayor Kamil Kskhakov praised the veterans, noting that some 150,000 Kazan residents had participated in World War II and 40,000 of them had died in the process.
Tatarstan To Develop Ties With Iraq.
Minister of Trade and International Cooperation Khafiz Salikhov will head a delegation to Iraq later this month to promote cooperation between Kazan and Baghdad.
Official Unemployment Figures Down.
Klara Tazetdinova, the chairwoman of the State Labor and Employment Committee, said on 8 May that only 18,700 people were currently registered as unemployed, a decline from the previous year and a number representing only one percent of the employable population.
Media Outlets Praised for Unbiased Election Coverage.
Tatarstan's Central Election Committee, the Ministry of Press and Media, and the Journalists Union praised Tatarstan's State TV, "Respublika Tatarstan," "Watanim Tatarstan", "Vremiya i Dengi," "Zvezda Povolzhya," Efir TV, Variant TV and Channel 6 for their "unbiased and professional work" in covering the recent presidential elections.
Computerization of Schools to Expand.
Educaiton Minister Faris Kharisov said that Kazan had spent 350 million rubles ($12 million) to equip all schools in the republic with computers and that now the government will push to include the use of the Internet in all school subjects.
Power Cable Thefts Increase.
With the onset of warm weather, more people are stealing power lines, Tatenergo reported on 8 May. Some 40 kilometers of line have been stolen in recent weeks.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi
DAILY REVIEW FROM BASHKORTOSTAN
Rakhimov Congratulates Veterans on Victory Day Anniversary.
President Murtaza Rakhimov on 8 May met with World War II veterans and praised their "eternal" heroism, RFE/RL's Ufa correspondent reported. He noted that the 700,000 residents of Bashkortostan who fought in the war deserve "the deepest respect of all generations."
Bashkortostan Reports Budget Surplus.
Bashkortostan had a two billion ruble ($66 million) surplus in the first quarter, with revenues of 7.4 billion rubles and expenditures of 5.4 billion. Some 54 percent of the revenues came from tax revenues and 40 percent from transfers from the federal budget.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi