12 December 2000
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Russian Constitution Day Marked In Tatarstan
Russian Constitution Day went largely uncelebrated in Tatarstan on 12 December. No special events were planned for this national holiday in which workers enjoy a day off. In cities across the republic, several state buildings were decorated with flags of the Russian Federation and the republic of Tatarstan. Looking at the history of the Russian Constitution, it is noted that the majority of Tatarstan's population didn't support the draft proposed by President Boris Yeltsin when a national referendum on it was held on 12 December 1993.
Oil Industry Responsible For Biggest Share Of Tatarstan's Income
Some 12.5 billion rubles are projected to be paid into the republican budget by local oil companies in 2001, Tatarstan's media reported on 9 December. Minister of Trade and Economic Cooperation Khafiz Salikhov told reporters the previous day that profits from the republican oil and chemical industries will make up about 70 percent of Tatarstan's budget next year. The republic's major oil producer, Tatneft, plans to extract 24.1 million tons of oil in 2001, while the minor oil companies are expected to produce 3.4 million tons. According to Ministry of Finance, Tatarstan will provide some tax recessions to the oil companies for maintaining such high quantities of extracted oil compared to previous years.
Kazan Helicopter Plant Needs More Cash
Although the Kazan Helicopters Plant (KHP) has received enough orders to stay busy for the next two to three years, the plant continues to have problems because of an absence of cash, Tatarinform agency reported on 9 December. The agency quoted Tatarstan's National Bank chairman, Yevgeny Bogachev, as saying that "banks in the republic are ready to give KHP $20 million" of the 100 million needed in assets. Bogachev reportedly also said that there was some $100 million available from Tatarstan's banks, but that the commercial banks in Moscow were more eager to cooperate with KHP.
BBC Employees Hold Seminar In Kazan
British journalists from the Welsh Department of BBC opened a seminar devoted to the use of two languages in electronic media on 11 December. The Welsh producers and reporters from the BBC are sharing the experience of bilingual broadcasting with their counterparts in Tatarstan, who have to abide by the republican law requiring that broadcasts be in both Russian and Tatar. The five-day seminar is being held in Tatarstan's Journalist House in Kazan.
By Iskender Nurmi