30 December 1999
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Chechen Refugees Present a Problem in Tatarstan
Since the start of Russian military operations against Chechnya, more than 200 Chechen refugees have asked for assistance from the Tatarstan Migration Service, but service officials said on 30 December that the real number of such refugees requiring assistance is likely to be much larger. Moscow had asked Tatarstan to host 1,000 such refugees, but Kazan had argued that it lacked the funds to support more than 500.
AIDS Continues to Spread in Tatarstan
Elena Tukhvatullina, a representative of Tatarstan's HIV Research and Prevention Center, told a press conference on 30 December that the number of HIV-infected residents would likely exceed 300 by the start of the year 2000. She said that 298 cases had been recorded in 1999. Of those infected, 155 live in Chally and 94 in prison.