25 February 2000
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Russian Minister Of Agriculture In Tatarstan
The federal minister of agriculture, Aleksei Gordeev, was present for the opening ceremony of an automated milk-processing factory in Yashel Uzen, Tatarstan on 24 February. According to Gordeev, similar factories exist only in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The federal government reportedly provided the majority of the 103.8 million rubles spent on this project.
Later that day, Gordeev met with Tatar President Mintimer Shaimiev to praise the "strong governmental support for agriculture in Tatarstan, allowing the promotion of private farms and also preserving the volume of fertilizers used at collective farms." According to the republican government, in the last 5 to 10 years Tatarstan has cut the volume of fertilizers used on its crops by just one and half times, while general fertilizer usage in Russia has dropped tenfold.
Tatarstan's State Council In Session
Deputies adopted a list of draft laws to be discussed on the first day of the new session of parliament on 24 February. Among these drafts is a law on introducing per-minute telephone fees and amendments to Tatarstan's Land Code. On the previous day, President Shaimiev was cited by Echo Moscow radio as suggesting that a national referendum be held on introducing private property rights for land. The republican parliament also finally passed a law on governmental assistance to carriers of tuberculosis and on measures to prevent the spreading of the deadly disease.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi