10 September 2001
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Speaker On Harmonization Of Tatarstan Constitution�
State Council Chairman Farid Mukhametshin on 5 September met with Dmitrii Kozak, a deputy head of the presidential administration and the head of the presidential commission on power sharing, to discuss the harmonization of the Tatarstan legislation with federal laws, Tatar-inform reported. Mukhametshin told the agency on 7 September that Kazan can only agree on the harmonization of the republic constitution which would take into account the power-sharing treaty with Moscow as the latter had become an act of mutual recognition of the two sides� constitutions. He said that the Tatarstan constitution must include paragraphs announcing the republic a state and fixing its treaty-based relations with Moscow.
�Parliamentary Reform�
Mukhametshin said that the next parliamentary elections in the republic will be held on the basis of a new electoral law and that executive bodies� heads won�t be represented in the State Council.
�And Conflict Involving Jewish School
Mukhametshin said that a conflict which had arisen after a school holding Jewish ethno-cultural classes had been forbidden to occupy more of its building reflects �an unfortunate misunderstanding� that nevertheless casts a shadow on republic�s reputation. He said that anti-Semitism has never existed in the republic's history.
YelAZ-GM Reduces Chevrolet Price
General Motors announced a 17 percent reduction in prices of its Alabuga-produced Chevrolet Blazer to $19,900, �Respublika Tatarstan� reported on 7 September. YelAZ-GM marketing director Aleksandr Moinov said that his company has sold 180 automobiles over the first half of the year.
Kazan to Sell Five Tu-214 to Russian Airlines
The Kazan aviation plant has signed an accord with Moscow�s Russian Airlines on sale of five Tu-214 jets, ITAR-TASS reported on 8 September. Nail Khairullin, the general manager of the plant, said that the purchase of 3-6 Tu-214 by Yekaterinburg�s Ural Airlines has also been agreed. He said these will be the first sales of a kind of jet previously only leased to airlines.
Tatarstan Enterprises Restructure Debts
Midkhat Shagiakhmetov, the deputy head of the Tax Ministry Board in Tatarstan, said on 7 September that 4.7 billion rubles ($160 million) debt of more than 2,500 republic companies has been restructured, Efir-inform reported. Specifically, KamAZ will pay its 400 million rubles ($13.6 million) debt to the federal budget over next 10 years.
4.8 Million Tons Of Grain Harvested
Republic farmers have gathered as of 7 September 4.8 million tons of grain or 86 percent of the total harvest, Tatar-inform reported.
Yeshel Uzen Loses Second Resident in Chechnya in Month
Andrei Levochkin, 19, a serviceman killed by explosion in Chechnya, has been buried in Yeshel Uzen, �Respublika Tatarstan� reported on 7 September. He has become this city�s second resident lost dead in Chechnya over the past month.
Another Mosque Opens in Kazan Penal Colony
Tatarstan�s Mufti Gusman khazrat Iskhakov on 7 September has held a religious service in a newly opened mosque in a Kazan colony which has become the third one in republic penitentiary institutions, Efir-inform reported.
Bishkek Opens Trade Representation in Kazan
Tatarstan�s Kyrgyz national-cultural autonomy chairman Beishenbek Mukanbetov was appointed a trade representative of Kyrgyzstan�s Foreign Trade and Industry Ministry to Kazan, Tatar-inform reported on 7 September.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova
DAILY REVIEW FROM BASHKORTOSTAN
Rakhimov Names Representative to Russian President
President Murtaza Rakhimov on 7 September has appointed Albert Kharisov, 31, his plenipotentiary representative to Russian President and Deputy Prime Minister, the presidential press service reported. Previously, Kharisov had served as a chief advisor to the staff of Presidential Envoy to the Northern-Western District.
Legislature Initiates Amendments To Federal Industrial Safety Law
The State Assembly approved amendments to the federal law on industrial safety seeking federation subjects alongside Moscow to take part in legal regulation of this sphere, Bashinform reported on 7 September. Deputies said that in addition to 35 dangerous enterprises in Bashkortostan, more than 1,000 companies are not subject to the corresponding federal law but nevertheless remain being dangerous industrial facilities.
New Health Resort Opens in Beloretsk Raion
President Murtaza Rakhimov on 6 September took part in the opening ceremony of a new health resort Assy in the Beloretsk raion that has become the republic eleventh similar facility, Bashinform reported. Rakhimov said that the development of health resorts is a priority of republic�s social policy.
Ufa To Cooperate With Baltic Fleet
Deputy Prime Minister Fidus Yamaltdinov and Baltic Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Vladimir Valuyev signed a cooperation agreement on support for the anti-submarine ship Bashkortostan where draftees from the republic serve. The sides are intended to improve conditions of service, provide its information support, and supply training facilities with computers. The republic delegation met with the crew of the ship and passed servicemen humanitarian aid.
Farmers Urged to Pay Installments on Leased Machines
Agriculture and Food Minister Grigorii Gorobets on 7 September criticized farms for failure to pay on their debts for leased agricultural machines and said such companies may face seizure of their machinery. The republic budget has spent 583 million rubles ($20 million) on the leasing of 2,000 agricultural machines since 1997.
Urals Trade Unions Exchange Experience
Trade union leaders from Kurgan, Orenburg, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Izhevsk, and Yekaterinburg gathered in Ufa to discuss common problems, Bashinform reported on 7 September.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova