10 February 1999
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Foreigner To Direct KamAZ?
Tatarstan's first deputy prime minister, Ravil Muratov, who also chairs the KamAZ board of directors, said in an interview with Tatar radio that a foreign manager should be named to head the KamAZ truck concern in order for it to overcome its economic difficulties. Muratov said the new director should have decision-making power and be able to issue orders. Such a director would also help the firm find a strategic partner, attract investment, and help develop new models. Muratov said he was prepared to take political responsibility for such a move, saying "it cannot be delayed." He added that the board of directors is considering five candidates for the post.
KamAZ's main problem, he said, is to fully utilize its production capacity. The concern could produce 120,000 trucks a year, but currently it's not possible to make more than 20,000 cars annually. He said the rest capacities should be involved in new production, he said.
Tatarstan's Speaker Against Distortion Of Republic's Name
Farid Mukhametshin, the State Council chairman of Tatarstan, sent a letter to Russia's presidential administration chief, Nikolai Bordyuzha, asking him to pay special attention to the times when the name of the Republic of Tatarstan is distorted in official documents. Mukhametshin said some Russian politicians and media refer to the republic as Tatariya, sometimes out of ignorance but other times at the instruction of their bosses. Some Moscow journalists refer to Tatarstan as "autonomy," he added.
World Congress Of Tatar Members To Stand For Office
The chairman of the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Tatars, Indus Tagirov, said in an interview with Tatar-Inform that the congress will soon propose its candidates for the next elections to the republic's authority bodies. Tatarstan's Justice Ministry registered the Congress's new charter, which allows the organization to participate in elections. The charter will be introduced to the leaders of the Congress' regional branches at a meeting to be held in Kazan on 11 February.
Power Line Damage Threatens Electricity Supply
Tatarstan's energy company, Tatenergo, has appealed to the republic's population to help the company in its struggle against the pilfering of materiel from power lines. Some 6 million rubles worth of damage was done to Tatarstan's energy system in 1998 as 60 kilometers of aluminum wiring and more than 100 electric pylons were stolen. The damage threatened the power supply to businesses and homes several times last year, Tatar-Inform reported.
Tatarstan Is Fascist-Free
Tatarstan's Prosecutor-General's Office reported that it did not discover any criminal instances of Fascist political displays -- by either parties or individuals, or of Fascist propaganda in the republic last year. It said Fascist ideas and literature are not popular in Tatarstan. The check on Fascism was conducted on an order from the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office in an effort to compile a nationwide report on political, nationalistic, and religious extremism.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova