15 December 1999
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Government Pledges Increase In Minimum Wage
Tatarstan's first deputy premier, Ravil Muratov, held a meeting of the Governmental Commission on Economic and Social Reforms involving the republic's biggest industrial concerns on 14 December. According to Muratov's program, the republican government would exert greater control over industrial profits to ensure an increase in the republic's minimum wage. The commission's working group is to prepare a final resolution by January, when the program is to be officially launched. The program will reportedly aim to reach an average monthly wage of 2,360 rubles and an average monthly pension of 800 rubles.
Safety Measures For Voting In Tatarstan Discussed
The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Tatarstan announced on 15 December that all voting premises in Kazan would be checked for possible terrorist acts before the elections for the Russian State Duma and the republic's State Council are held on 19 December. Previously, the republican Ministry of Interior Affairs stated that two militia officers would guard each polling place within the city areas. During the last parliamentary elections in 1995, only one officer was used to guard each voting site.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi