10 November 2000
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
'Consent Commission' Said To Agree To Tatarstan's New Passport
Rafail Khakimov, a state adviser to Tatar President Mintimer Shaimiev, told reporters in Kazan on 9 November about the accomplishments of the "consent commission" that is working in Nizhni Novgorod. Khakimov said that most of the controversies arose during discussions over the new version of Tatarstan's passport. Khakimov said that according to the draft proposed by the republic, the first page of the passport would indicate Russian citizenship, and the second page would show citizenship and the state symbols of Tatarstan. All of the text would be in both Russian and Tatar. Khakimov added that due to arguments presented by members of the commission representing Tatarstan, "the commission accepted our side's opinion." Khakimov said: "we checked all legislation, the Russian Constitution, and Russian citizenship laws, and, according to them, our approach [to modifying our laws] was recognized to be correct." As a result, the consent commission will appeal to the Russian government, asking them to approve Tatarstan's version of the passport.
Academy Of Sciences Defines Priorities
Tatarstan's Academy of Sciences discussed at its regular meeting on 9 November a draft program for the development of science over the next five years, Tatar Radio and Television reported. Some 150 scientific institutions headed by the Academy have been developing the program for more than a year. Nine areas were listed as priorities for scientific research, among them chemical, petrochemical, agriculture, and the humanities. The volume of financing for the programs is currently being considered by the republican Finance Ministry, after which it will be confirmed by Tatarstan's Cabinet of Ministers.
AIDS Turns Into Epidemic
Oleg Romanenko, chief doctor of the Republican Center for AIDS, told Tatar-inform on 9 November that the way in which AIDS is spreading in the Russian Federation can be considered an epidemic. The number of carriers in the population across the federation varies: 45 out of every 100,000 people in Russia; 27/100,000 in Tatarstan; 4.5/100,000 in Kazan; 192/100,000 in Moscow Oblast; 106/100,000 in Moscow; 7/100,000 in Bashkortostan; 9/100,000 in Chuvashiya; 6/100,000 in Marii El Republic. Romanenko said that lower rates in small national republics is explained not by higher morality in the population but by the fact that many cases of AIDS in those places are either unreported or undiscovered.
Tatar Drivers Leading World Cup Rally
The KamAZ off-road racing team won the first day of the World Cup rally on 8 November in the United Arab Emirates, Tatar-inform reported. The team, which had won all the previous stages of the races, has already become a three-time champion in the super marathon. The KamAZ team is represented by two crews -- one headed by Firdaus Kabirov, and the other led by Tatarstan's prime minister, Rustam Minnikhanov. Tatarstan's teams finished first and second after the first stage. The rally will finish on 11 November in Dubai.
By Gulnara Khasanova